Alan Ritchson recently revealed that his biggest idol has always been Jim Carrey, and he used to imitate his iconic ’90s character.

SUMMARY

 Ace Ventura inspired Alan Ritchson’s comedic acting style, which he would often emulate for laughs growing up.
 A security guard once stopped Alan Ritchson from meeting his idol, Jim Carrey.
 Alan Ritchson has honed his acting skills for diverse roles, from tough guys to funny characters.

Alan Ritchson plays it straight as Jack Reacher in his Prime Video series, but the actor recently recalled how he used to show his funny side by imitating his hero, Jim Carrey.
Having grown up watching Carrey’s classic outrageous comedies such as Dumb & Dumber and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Ritchson said that the actor’s “physical, goofy and unafraid” style was something that he wanted to emulate at the time.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Release Date: February 4, 1994
Director: Tom Shadyac
Cast: Jim Carrey , Courteney Cox , Sean Young , Tone Loc , Dan Marino , Noble Willingham
Runtime: 86
Main Genre: Comedy
Writers: Jack Bernstein , Tom Shadyac , Jim Carrey
Tagline: He’s the best there is! (Actually, he’s the only one there is.)

Ritchson has recently found his niche as big tough guys in movies like Fast X and his Reacher series, but he has also shown his softer side in his hit Ordinary Angels.

However, some of his other roles have not been quite as serious, such as Fired Up, The Turkey Bowl and Blue Mountain State – which currently has a sequel in development – and that comedy side of Ritchson was almost certainly influenced by his love of Carrey.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Ritchson explained how he did not really care that much about big action stars of his youth, and it was Carrey that became his ultimate idol.

“He was my hero. When Ace Ventura came out [in 1994], I was in sixth grade, and I was enamored. He was so physical, goofy and unafraid. I’d never seen anything like it. I dressed up as Ace Ventura for three Halloweens in a row.

I showed up to school and wouldn’t break character the entire time. I had the hair, the business card, and I would walk up to people at their lunch tables and say, ‘Excuse me, I’d like to ass you a few questions.’ People hated it, but I love that it made most people laugh. Jim Carrey knew how to do that and it’s a gift.”

Alan Ritchson Recalls Being Stopped from Meeting His Idol by a Security Guard

Many big stars have an entourage of security around them at all times, and back at the peak of his movie career, Jim Carrey was no exception. This was something that prevented Ritchson from actually meeting his idol back in the late ‘90s when he was filming The Truman Show.

As Ritchson remembered, he was able to speak to Carrey from a distance while visiting the location of filming on the movie, but was unable to get too close thanks to security. He said:

“We waited for him to come out of his trailer. My mom spotted him and went, ‘There he is!’ I unveiled my poster and said, ‘Hey, Jim!’ He looked over and did this big belly laugh by arching his spine backwards.

My brother and I ran over to him, but a security guard was there. He put his hand on a gun and said, ‘Don’t go any closer.’ Jim was caught in this place where he wanted to sign it but had to go to work, so he just wandered off. That’s as close as I’ve gotten.”

Alan Ritchson believes he ‘owes it to the audience’ to play Reacher as his ‘body will allow.’

Alan Ritchson will return to Prime Video in Reacher Season 3 by the start of 2025, but as well as revealing that a Blue Mountain State sequel is in the works, he will also be showing funny side with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the holiday action-comedy, The Man with the Bag.