Alan Ritchson On Why He Lost Roles On ‘Thor’ & ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’

deadline.com:

Alan Ritchson is opening up about why he lost two major roles in Thor and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. In a new interview, the Reacher actor is looking back at his career and talking about what led Marvel to not cast him in the titular role that ultimately went to Chris Hemsworth. “I didn’t take it seriously,” Ritchson told Men’s Health of his audition for the superhero movie. “I was like, ‘They’ll throw me the part if I look like the guy; nobody really cares about acting.'” Following his audition for the 2011 film, casting told his team he didn’t show had “the craft” for the role.

Ritchson had previously played the DC superhero Aquaman in the Smallville series. With Ritchson losing out on playing Thor, he also lost out on reprising his role across the MCU and follow-up sequels.

Later on, Ritchson would audition for the role of Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which ultimately went to Sam Claflin.

This time, the feedback wasn’t about not having “the craft” but about his age. He was told that at the age of 30, he was too old to play the character and most likely not going to break out.