Have you been watching a movie or TV show recently where a huge dude comes out and then beats up a room full of guys in insane ways? Sure, it might seem cool, but after ten movies like that, chances are you get a little exhausted.
Hollywood seems to have these kinds of cycles. You want to see action heroes shake off a situation where the odds are against them, but when the line between being a massive superhero and an average Joe gets completely erased, you can have trouble identifying with the people on screen.
If anyone knows a thing or two about playing an unstoppable, larger-than-life force, it’s Alan Ritchson. As the lead in Prime Video’s Reacher, Ritchson has made a career out of headlining high-octane stories where he kicks butt as a military man with a lit of skills and firepower.
But Ritchson is itching for something different, and thinks the audience is as well. What happened to actors playing everyday heroes and not these massive dudes with military training?
Let’s dive in.
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The Monoculture of ‘Ex-Military’ Protagonists
I am guilty of this trend, but we have seen so many action movies of late just about military guys or ex-military guys beating the crap out of 100 people. There’s always someone with a special set of skills who gets caught up in these scenarios.
Whether it’s John Wick or The Beekeeper, we’ve gotten so used to these kinds of tropes that it feels like no one is even trying to have a movie about ordinary people anymore.
Some of this is Hollywood’s fault. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with execs who want their heroes to have a particular set of skills that justify the action movie. I mean, even John McClane was a cop.
But in the original Die Hard, he’s taking out 15 people over two hours, not hundreds.
And he’s doing it in a way that feels like he’s an average dude, not someone on steroids with a perfect body. I mean, he smokes, which they don’t even let James Bond do anymore.
Ritchson echoed this frustration in the video from Variety. He noted that protagonists often get flattened into two-dimensional “superheroes.”
And now that he has his own production company, he talks about how he wants to bring the everyman back to the big screen.
He says, “I’ve been asking the town to help us create and find and develop things where protagonists are like plumbers and electricians… guys who are caught up in extraordinary situations and circumstances, but not necessarily prepared for it.”
Why the ‘Reluctant Everyman’ Works
Ritchson’s critique exposes a structural habit in modern action writing. Ever since the rise of The Bourne Identity, Taken, and John Wick, the default shortcut for establishing high stakes has been giving the protagonist a lethal background.
Like I said above, a lot of this was done to justify the set pieces and the budgets. They act as big character reveals when you get these backstories, but they get so common that we did stop seeing everyman characters.
I also think actors who got so muscular are part of it. These guys are all so huge now, it was hard to buy them as anything but operatives because they have superhero bodies.
We need to bring vulnerability back.
Audiences want to see characters in real danger who not only outlast the bad guys but also outwit them.
Indiana Jones uses a whip and knowledge of ancient history. Ellen Ripley uses a commercial cargo loader.
These were plants and payoffs and character costumes that actually meant something.
If you’re writing an action spec, bring vulnerability forward to stand out.
Let your protagonist slip, drop their weapon, miscalculate a jump, or panic. The drama in an action sequence comes from the protagonist overcoming physical limitations under immense pressure.
See if you can make them someone we identify with in a crazy situation, so you can pull more of the audience back in.
Summing It All Up
Hearing one of television’s biggest physical stars advocate for under-trained, vulnerable, everyday protagonists should get the attention of writers and directors looking to set up projects.
This is a guy who is calling for a change in action, and I would think that trend will continue because other stars may follow suit.
If you’re trying to sell a spec script, this might be a good way to stand out from the pack, too.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
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