Alan Ritchson Reveals Devastating Past With Suicide And Assault

Born in Grand Forest, North Dakota, Alan Ritchson moved to Miami, where he started his career in modeling. He modeled for Bruce Weber in his Abercrombie & Fitch days, did catalog work, and even modeled racy underwear. However, he opened up about the dark side of modeling when he sat down with The Hollywood Reporter.

Alan Ritchson explained the dark side of modeling, stating, “It’s like legalized sex trafficking … it’s a widely known secret that if you’re hired on a job, you’re basically being passed off to a photographer to be trafficked.” Sure enough, he explains that a famous photographer sexually assaulted him. Afterward, he says he accused his modeling agency of knowing what was going to happen, and then he quit modeling right then and there.

Alan Ritchson is a multi-hyphenate talent, and that includes singing. He auditioned for Season 3 of American Idol by performing Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” Ritchson earned a ticket to the Hollywood rounds, although he got cut during the round of 32. However, he didn’t go home and, instead, stayed in L.A. to pursue acting.

In 2005, he landed a role in Smallville as Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman. Ritchson appeared in four episodes across multiple seasons. Following Smallville, Alan Ritchson booked his first series regular role on the college football comedy Blue Mountain State on Spike TV. That last three seasons.

Speaking of Aquaman, Ritchson is friends with Jason Momoa. The two were in Fast X together and call each other “brother.”

By 2013, he had turned to major films like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. However, it wasn’t all positive. Around this time, Alan Ritchson was invited to a runway show as part of Paris Fashion Week. At the show and at a dinner afterwards, he says he was seated next to photographer Mario Testino who touched him inappropriately and propositioned him.

Years later, The New York Times published an explosive investigation that detailed allegations of sexual misconduct by Testino.

Alan Ritchson later started producing and partnered with someone on a film fund. However, that relationship went south, and Ritchson says he became depressed.

In 2019, the actor said he attempted to take his own life. “I hung myself. It all happened so fast, and I was dangling there.” Ritchson said that it was a vision of his three young sons in their mid-30s that saved him. He says he was able to pull himself up before he blacked out. Following that, he was diagnosed as bipolar.

Ritchson says he sees a psychiatrist, and both his wife and his assistant have a deep understanding of the disorder.

Nowadays, Alan Ritchson is starring in the show Reacher, and he appears alongside Oscar winner Hilary Swank in the movie Ordinary Angels. He’s also in the upcoming Guy Ritchie action film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare with Henry Cavill.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter