The Reacher Season 3 finale finally gave audiences the big fight they've been waiting for between Alan Ritchson's titular hero and Olivier Richters' Paulie.
Tension between the two giants has been brewing all season, but it all finally blew up in the big finale as they traded blows over the course of a four-part fight that started with a semi-truck and went into a barnhouse, plunging into the depths of the ocean. It finally ended where it all began: in the guardhouse.
The Direct sat down with Paulie actor Olivier Richters who helped break down the challenges of their fight and how it all went down.
Olivier Richters on Finally Fighting Reacher in Season 3 Finale
The Actor Teased that the Big Fight Was "Devastating Physically"....
- The Direct: "Now I want to talk about that big finale the whole season is building towards you guys finally trading blows. And the show really does wait until that very last episode to finally go. All right. Gloves are off. You're finally gonna get at it. How great did it feel to finally get to that moment and start filming the big brawl."
Olivier Richters: Devastating physically, but very exciting to do it. We were both very prepared. But if you put two titans across each other, things happen. We had a lot of pain. And, at the end of filming all those scenes, we hugged each other and we said, this was the most, dumbest thing, hardest thing we ever did. But we did it, and then we went into full recovery mode.
You know, I had to take some [medicine] to even walk anymore. And that's how rough it was, the choices you make to make it be real, but it was also very dangerous, of course. I mean, we did everything we could to not hit each other, but imagine that if two titans hit each other. It's different than lightweight boxing. If something goes wrong, it can really go wrong. And we both realized that.
- The Direct: "Did anyone accidentally exchange blows during the process?"
Olivier Richters: Not by Alan himself, but sometimes I got accidentally [hit and[] stuff like that, somebody stepping so hard on my toe that I lost my toenails, that kind of stuff. And just the overall fighting, just your tendons get overused, and at some point, after night shoot 10, your body just says, What the hell are you doing?
As I tell my buddy, I don't know, man, we just need to do it. And then, yeah, you know, I had to grab through the basic bills of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen because we had to finish it. And we did it. And I'm super happy that we did.
Reacher Star Olivier Richters Breaks Down the Big Season 3 Finale Fight
"I Never Wanted a Water Scene Again..."
- The Direct: "How strong does one have to be to lift Reacher and throw him through the wall of a shed? That was pretty cool."
Olivier Richters: That was super cool. We practiced it a lot on set, but we couldn't practice it a lot because the one person that's flying can also land wrong.
But it is a combination that he launches himself, but it lacks, but he can't do it by himself. So it's great that I'm only 60 kilos, and I squat a lot. So I press with my legs. I throw them with all strength arms. And we only had to do it twice to make it work, which everybody was super happy with.
Because we had, do you have Bob the Builder, the cartoon in your country?... There was a great theme behind the scenes of Bob the Builder. So, if we broke stuff and we had to do it again, there were like five guys coming in, and within 20 minutes, it was standing again. It was great for us.
- The Direct: "There was also a chain gag right after that where you string Reacher up with a chain. What were the, I mean, obviously he wasn't really hanging there with his life dangling in the balance. But what was the the practicality of that? How did you guys set that up?"
Olivier Richters: There was some kind of system that I really pulled, and if you let loose, the chain keeps itself at play. So, it's not like I have to keep it [held]. I had to pull him one time [and his height would maintain progress].
I didn't actually pull Reacher himself, the stunt people did. But all the pulling and getting Reacher up the ceiling was freaking real. It was a combination of [the stunst] and him, of course, because it's dangerous to have something around your neck.
But, yeah, it really looks real. I wish I could tell you more details, but it's such a blur, it was almost a year ago, and it was five in the morning.
- The Direct: "I think the water part of the fight really was kind of, when I was watching, and I was like, man, filming this must have been rough."
Olivier Richters: I once did a water scene for a movie, and I almost drowned, so I had a fear. And I said to my agent, I never wanted a water scene again. I was so traumatized. And then he sent me the video, because he recorded that I didn't want to do anymore.
And he told me, Hey, you remember this video? You have to do it again for 'Reacher.' So, actually... I told Amazon I had a fear of water. They were so kind to me. They brought me to a normal pool at a house to practice in the water, just to feel comfortable while I held my breath in the water.
I had to overcome a fear, and they let me get my diver certificate, which I was obligated to have for insurance. So there was a lot of preparation for the water scenes, so I felt safe, but also had the license as a diver to know how to handle the air and stuff to keep myself on the water. So the lot of money, time, and also the set was insane.
I hope they released some of the making off, because it looks like an ocean in the series, but it was actually a swimming pool where they built machines and made huge waves. It was so cool.
- The Direct: "Even after all of that, you know, you take so much pain, so much damage, but you're still up and running. Was there ever a conversation about how much pain you were taking and like, oh, is this too much? Or it's, okay, because it's part of the gag of you being unstoppable."
Olivier Richters: Well, my injuries were growing bigger and bigger, and I had a conversation with the director. Look, it's not my mind that will stop, but at some point, my body will stop. And he realized that as well, and we still had three more days to go.
So, he was very, he [would go], 'Olivier, can you do it? You want to do it?' So, they took great care of me, and before we filmed every night, the producer and the director came into my trailer to discuss it, because they know I was so injured, and I'm really thankful for that, that they took care of me as human [being] and let me have the choice if I wanted to do this.
Of course, I had to do it for myself and finish it. Of course, nobody's going to force you, but it's great that they came to me, and I didn't have to ask for, 'Hey guys, I'm hurt.'
At the end of the day, Olivier Richter's Paulie does outmuscle Reacher—but he certainly doesn't win. Reacher tricks by blocking the barrel of the big machine gun in the guard house, where the fight eventually ends.
Thinking he's won, Paulie takes control of the turret and fires at Reacher. Instead of getting that victory, he gets shrapnel into his neck, dying on the spot.
Olivier Richters on Developing the Fued with Alan Ritchson's Reacher
"I Felt Like I Should Not Be Intimidated By Reacher in the First Scene."
- The Direct: "How much did you talk [with Alan Ritchson] about how you guys would help develop that tension between your two characters throughout the process?"
Olivier Richters: Well, actually, in the first scene, we meet each other. It was a big decision because in real life, tall people are not so quickly intimidated. That's just like a scientific fact. So for me, playing a giant, him not listening to me, I felt like I should not be intimidated by Reacher in the first scene.
But we played it both ways, and how they call it, is that there is an intense blink of mine when Reacher first looks up and I look at him, and I think the viewer can feel the tension, and I think they did a great way of choosing, because we did it around, we filmed it like 10 times in different emotions, I really think they chose the right one.
So, it was difficult... And begin[ing] to develop Paulie, as in, how intimidated is he by Reacher? And how will that develop? And I think it's worked out great.
- The Direct: "Did that rivalry ever, like, playfully bleed off, on set, with you guys, when the camera wasn't rolling?"
Olivier Richters: Well, I heard this interview [where] he was intimidated by me. Meaning, the first time, because he had to look up. He wasn't used to that. And I was intimidated by his fighting skills because I've seen Seasons 1 and 2... I'm super happy that they gave me a chance to train with the stunt guys for four months and to get to his level.
So, when we first met each other, we were very impressed with each other, not intimidated, but just honored to work with each other. And yeah, that showed on set as well. The difficult thing about Alan is he's not only the actual producer, so he could really say how he sees the scene.
And I, 99% of the time, adjusted to it because I love these ideas. And you know, you practice a scene at home, and this is how I want to play it, and then with the first take, you show it and always have great ideas to improve on that. And I love that, because he is, of course, probably 15 or 20 years more experienced than me. So, to work with him was great for me as an actor.
Reacher Season 3 is streaming on Amazon Studios' Prime Video.
