Alan Ritchson is one of the franchise’s major new additions. <\/p>
Alan Ritchson has revealed that he almost missed out on his Fast X<\/a> role to none other than Hollywood legend Keanu Reeves<\/a> \u2013 and that wasn\u2019t the only hurdle during production.<\/p>\n The actor, who became a household name following the success of Prime Video\u2019s Reacher<\/a>, makes his Fast & Furious<\/a> debut in the latest entry as Aimes, the leader of the secretive agency once overseen by Kurt Russell\u2019s Mr Nobody.<\/p>\n However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly<\/a>, Ritchson revealed that the role very nearly went to John Wick star Reeves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a little stroke of luck and good timing,\u201d he explained. \u201cI got a call that things had shifted in the plans with Keanu Reeves, which is I think who was originally intended to play my part. Tough act to follow.\u201d<\/p> Ritchson\u2019s role was subject to delicate scheduling that was thrown into disarray by \u201cthe biggest blizzard in Winnipeg\u2019s history\u201d, causing the actor to fear this blockbuster opportunity would slip through his fingers.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was over before it began,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut luckily we worked it out and they were able to push the dates a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n One more curveball was thrown as production got underway, with Ritchson remembering a worrying phone call from Fast & Furious producer Jeff Kirschenbaum.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHe sounded real low. I was like, \u2018Oh, God. Whatever you\u2019ve got to say, just say it. I can take it. I\u2019m a big boy,’\u201d recalled Ritchson<\/a>. \u201cHe goes, \u2018You\u2019re not going to be working with [director] Justin [Lin] on this.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Okay\u2026 am I still in the movie?’\u201d<\/p>\n Kirschenbaum went on to clarify that Ritchson\u2019s job was safe, but that Universal had unexpectedly parted ways with long-time Fast filmmaker Lin, who was swiftly replaced by Louis Leterrier (best known for The Incredible Hulk and Now You See Me).<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very grateful that it worked out,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Ritchson, Jason Momoa (Aquaman<\/a>) and Brie Larson (The Marvels<\/a>) are among the noteworthy new additions to the Fast & Furious franchise with this 10th entry, while stalwarts Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson return.<\/p>\n Fast X is out now in cinemas. Check out more of our\u00a0Film<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Join us on Thursday, 25th May for\u00a0Radio Times Talks \u2013 Marvel vs. DC: who\u2019s the king of superhero cinema?<\/a>, an epic evening of fan debate featuring a panel of exciting guest speakers \u2013\u00a0get your free ticket now<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only \u00a31 with delivery to your home \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Alan Ritchson is one of the franchise’s major new additions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":33076,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/05\/keanu-reeves-originally-set-to-play-fast-x-role-claims-reacher-star-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/05\/keanu-reeves-originally-set-to-play-fast-x-role-claims-reacher-star-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/05\/keanu-reeves-originally-set-to-play-fast-x-role-claims-reacher-star-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/05\/keanu-reeves-originally-set-to-play-fast-x-role-claims-reacher-star-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/05\/keanu-reeves-originally-set-to-play-fast-x-role-claims-reacher-star-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/05\/keanu-reeves-originally-set-to-play-fast-x-role-claims-reacher-star-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/05\/keanu-reeves-originally-set-to-play-fast-x-role-claims-reacher-star-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Alan Ritchson is one of the franchise's major new additions.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/33075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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