Before 'Reacher,' Alan Ritchson Had Not One, but 2 Timeless Sitcom Guest Roles

When you hear or read the name Alan Ritchson, the first thing that comes to mind is probably Jack Reacher. The towering behemoth of an actor has blossomed into a bonafide action star in recent years, largely thanks to his acclaimed performance as the titular hero in Prime Video's hit series Reacher. Even most of his non-Reacher roles now involve Ritchson punching at least a dozen people in the face, but that wasn't always the case. Ritchson actually rose to stardom through his hilarious work in sitcoms, most notably the raunchy Spike TV comedy Blue Mountain State.

While Blue Mountain State certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, Ritchson also appeared on some of network TV's most popular sitcoms in the 2010s. There were two instances in particular where Ritchson popped up on a widely beloved sitcom for just one episode and managed to steal every scene he was a part of. The first was on the fourth season of New Girl, opposite Zooey Deschanel; and the second was during the sixth season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, where he played a younger version of an unexpected series mainstay. Both were absolutely hilarious, proving Ritchson absolutely had the chops to lead his own series one day.

Alan Ritchson in 'New Girl' Season 4

The fourth episode of New Girl Season 4 aired back in 2014 and is titled "Micro." Ritchson guest stars as a hot artist named Matt, who becomes the focus of a challenge between Jess (Deschanel) and the guys when he reveals to her that he has a micropenis. See, Jess and her roommates were in an argument about physical appearance and sex not being incredibly important when looking for someone to date. After finding out about Matt's situation, the guys made Jess stick to her guns and date him, saying that his charm wouldn't be enough for her to look past the micropenis.

Unfortunately for Jess, Matt wasn't nearly as great a guy as he let on. In fact, he was downright insufferable to be around — he called a scotch on the rocks a "Sco-Ro." But Jess stuck around because she didn't want her roommates to think they'd won. This is where Ritchson was really able to show his comedy prowess in the episode.

Once he is able to shed the "hot, nice guy with a chip on his shoulder" attitude and turn into a complete turd, he's off to the races. Every time he speaks in the episode, he gives you a reason to laugh, even though you want nothing more than to smack him in the head. His insufferable nature juxtaposes Jess' naive patience and creates sitcom gold.

Just as hilarious as the performance itself is the fact that Ritchson was handed that job in the middle of the night in an empty Trader Joe's parking lot.

Alan Ritchson in 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Season 6

Five years after appearing in New Girl — and still three years before Reacher would premiere on Prime Video — Ritchson landed an incredible role in the sixth season of fellow Fox hit (and shared universe series) Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This time, however, Ritchson's character wasn't some random guy that fans would never see again.

The second episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 6 was all about a cold case from the early days of lazy icons Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller). As the squad digs into the case, they learn that Hitchcock and Scully were actually pretty awesome back in the 1980s. Ritchson played a young Scully and Wyatt Nash took on the role of a young Hitchcock, giving the two detectives a hilarious backstory from their glory days. We got to see how great they used to be at their jobs — and the beginning of their transformation into the chicken wing-loving partners we had watched throughout the rest of the series.

Both of these performances from Ritchson are top-notch, and stand out as some of the best guest spots from each series. What's most notable, though, is just how different they are, proving Ritchson is a versatile talent in any genre he tackles.