Alan Ritchson is leaving behind Jack Reacher’s fists of fury and Clark bars for something far stranger: suburban dad chaos, and if you follow the big guy on social media, you’ll know — this probably suits him better than any role. The Reacher star takes center stage in Playdate, an upcoming action comedy from director Luke Greenfield (Let’s Be Cops) that pairs him with Kevin James in a story that turns a simple afternoon between fathers into a mercenary showdown.
Ritchson plays Jeff, a charismatic stay-at-home dad who seems harmless enough — until his new friend Brian (James), an unemployed accountant trying to bond with his stepson, discovers Jeff comes with a dangerous amount of baggage. “One minute you’re tossing a football, the next you’re dodging bad guys in a minivan,” Ritchson said in a new interview with EW, who also revealed first look images. “That absurd mashup of everyday parenting and full-blown action just spoke to me.”
Known primarily for his hulking, deadly calm, turkey-fisted Reacher, Ritchson relished the chance to show off another side of himself. Indeed, if anyone has seen his unhinged social media videos where he uses affected accents to show off his breakfast, they’ll know how funny he is.
“Everyone knows Alan as the badass who kicks ass, but I wanted to flip that on its head and show the world how truly hilarious he is,” Greenfield said. And from the sound of it, Ritchson dove straight in. “I got to lean into this borderline-unhinged dad mode,” he explained, noting that he and James “balanced each other really well.”
James echoed the praise: “I knew he’d bring the action, but what kind of annoyed me was how funny he was… I did not expect that.”
What’s ‘Playdate’ About?
Despite its high-octane premise — mercenaries chasing dads and kids across playgrounds and backyards — Playdate is rooted in a surprisingly emotional core. “It was the script’s surprising amount of heart that drew me in,” Ritchson admitted. “It’s about two dads learning how to be great fathers, even if they didn’t have great fathers themselves.”
Greenfield added, “Just when you think it’s going one way, it swerves into something you never saw coming. But beneath the insanity, there’s real heart, pathos, and vulnerability.”
The supporting cast includes Isla Fisher, Alan Tudyk, and Stephen Root, each of whom Greenfield promises will surprise audiences. “You’ve never seen a suburban backyard or an over-the-top indoor kid zone quite like this before,” Ritchson teased of the escalating mayhem.
Playdate arrives in theaters on November 12.
via Collider