Where did Alan Ritchson go to school? Reacher star calls out former classmate Matt Gaetz as his adversary

Actor Alan Ritchson called out politician Matt Gaetz while discussing politics and other things in an interview with GQ magazine on February 19, 2025. Notably, Gaetz and Ritchson have known each other since childhood, having grown up in Florida. During the conversation, the Reacher star called Matt his adversary.

According to Empire magazine, Alan Ritchson attended Niceville High School in Florida before his family later shifted to Illinois. His family includes two brothers, Brian and Eric, and his parents, school teacher Vickie and retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant David.

While speaking to GQ, Ritchson seemingly addressed his disappointment with the public for continuing to vote for Matt Gatez despite being aware of his controversies. Referring to Matt, he said:

"That motherf*cker. We are adversaries It's shocking to me that the panhandle of Florida continues to vote for somebody – knowing everything we know about him and the promises that he's made behind closed doors about pardoning certain criminals – he's just not a good dude."

Matt Gaetz made headlines in November last year after he resigned from Congress. The news came on the same day when he was reportedly chosen by Donald Trump as the attorney general for the new administration, as per the New York Post.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Gatez faced accusations of child trafficking and statutory r*pe around five years ago but was not charged. Alan Ritchson said that he was willing to run for office so that he could defeat people like Matt. He further stated:

"There are certain people that do a good job of staying true to who they are, but they're ineffective. I think Bernie Sanders is a hero. But it's like, what has he accomplished?"

---

Alan Ritchson returns as Jack Reacher in the new season of the action crime drama

Alan Ritchson, who hails from Grand Forks, North Dakota, has been portraying Jack Reacher in Reacher for two seasons. The latest season premiered on Amazon Prime Video on February 20, 2025. In an interview with Forbes magazine on Monday, February 17, Ritchson opened up on how he was disappointed with the action of the previous season. He said:

"One thing I'll say that I've really taken charge of is the action. I was really unhappy with the action in season 2—the way that it was cut with some of the fights that we had. I didn't like the way that it was directed. [I said] 'I think we can do better in season 3.'"

Alan Ritchson also revealed that he reached out to the show's creative team to ensure that they can improve the action scenes in the new season. He highlighted that the goal was to remain faithful to the book series from where the show was adapted and that the plans were successful.

"I think that was really the focus of our attention in Season 3 and it looks and feels a lot better to me this year, and I think hopefully audiences can enjoy that."

For now, only three episodes of Reacher season 3 have been released, and the remaining five shall be coming out every week, concluding the season on March 27. The series has already been renewed for a fourth season.