ALAN RITCHSON’S CAREER has gone from strength to strength in the last year, with the Prime Video series Reacher becoming an undeniable hit.

The 6’3″ actor’s hulking muscular frame seemed tailor-made for the role of Jack Reacher, Lee Child’s modern knight errant. He is now channeling that all-American appeal into Ordinary Angels opposite Hilary Swank,while his gritty, grizzled performance as Reacher is sparking rumors that he’s next in line to play an iconic superhero.

Alan Ritchson Had a Facial Tumor in High SchoolGetty Images

But as Ritchson reveals in his Men’s Health cover story, he’s actually a late bloomer, both in his career—Reacher is his breakthrough role after 20 years of trying—and in his physical appearance. It might be hard to believe looking at him now, but the buffer-than-buff Ritchson was actually bullied in high school for the way he looked: he was one of the last of his peers to reach puberty, and he had a tumor in his jawbone which made his chin grow out asymmetrically.

He eventually underwent surgery to have the tumor removed and the bone shaved down, but he credits that experience with instilling in him an all-important perspective and empathy for others.

“When you haven’t hit puberty and you’re 17 and you’ve got a face growing out of your face…it fortifies a sense of kindness that I’m grateful for,” he says.

Ritchson has spoken before about the tough time he had as a teenager, sharing in a Reddit AMA how his medical issue led to him being “teased about looking like Jay Leno.”

“It’s hard when something out of your control changes the way people treat you in your formative years,” he added. “It taught me never to judge or look down on someone for things out of their control.”