The actor remembers running into a high school classmate, years after graduating: “He forgot what he did, but I didn’t.”

Reacher star Alan Ritchson once had a “strange” encounter with a former high school bully.

In a lengthy interview with The Wall Street Journal, the 41-year-old actor explained that before he got a job punching bad guys as Jack Reacher, he was an awkward, artsy kid growing up in north Florida. But years after graduating, he ran into one of his former high school bullies, who had since become a fan.

“Before we left Florida, I ran into one of the guys who teased me in high school,” Ritchson recounted. “He wanted a selfie. I was happy to oblige, but it felt strange.”

“He forgot what he did, but I didn’t,” Ritchson added.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images, Alan Ritchson

Ritchson has starred in his fair share of superhero series and action blockbusters, most recently appearing in Titans and Fast X. But the actor explained that growing up, he was a late bloomer who didn’t play sports, and he didn’t always fit into his small Florida hometown of Niceville. As a result, he says, he faced his “share of bullying.”

“Early on, I wasn’t physically built the way I am now, and I loved expressing myself through music, singing and in-line skating,” he explained. “Not ideal for a guy in an area where all the dudes wore mullets and pulled up to school in four wheelers.”

“As a very late bloomer, I used to pray that hair would grow on my legs and armpits,” Ritchson added. “One day, I was in the high-school cafeteria in my gym shorts when a kid shouted. ‘Hey, everybody, Ritchson doesn’t have any hair on his legs!’ Everyone laughed. I was mortified.”

Ritchson currently stars in Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher, based on the popular Lee Child books. The second season premiered earlier this month.