The Reacher Season 3: Who is the ‘Dutch giant’ towering over Alan Richtson’s Jack Reacher? What is his height?

Reacher Season 3, based on author Lee Child’s seventh Jack Reacher novel, 2003’s Persuader, introduces an antagonist with a towering physique that literally overshadows its titular character.

Lee Child said he was “stunned” by how the Dutch giant made Alan Ritchson, a 6-foot-3-inch man with a massive build, “look tiny”.

Who is the ‘Dutch giant’ towering over Alan Richtson?

Reacher creator Nick Santora introduces the ‘Dutch giant’ in the first episode of season 3.

As Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher searches for an elusive villain dating back to his time in the US Army Military Police Corps with the 110th Special Investigations Unit, he crosses paths with Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall), a rich and powerful importer who uses his rug business as a front for something much more nefarious.

But before he meets Beck, Reacher encounters the business magnate’s bodyguard, Paulie, played by the Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters.

Olivier Richters towered Ritchson's US military police major turned drifter hero so perfectly that the team needed “zero clever camera angles” to achieve Child's vision of “a huge guy that makes Alan Ritchson look small”.

“The guy is enormous, and I wanted to give Reacher a challenge and immediately it's a visual challenge,” said Child, who also serves as the executive producer for the series.

Who is Olivier Richters?

Olivier Richters is a professional bodybuilder by trade. He is best known by his other name, “The Dutch Giant.”

Before Reacher, Olivier Richters has had cameos in The King’s Man and Marvel’s Black Widow. His other projects include Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Borderlands.

What is Olivier Richters' height?

Olivier Richters is a whopping 7’2” and holds the Guinness World Record for the tallest professional bodybuilder.

‘I don't think I would want…’

In an interview with Business Insider, Alan Ritchson said he took a punch from Olivier Richters while filming a fight scene.

Ritchson recalled how one fight scene became too real: “I took a punch accidentally one time, and I was like, ‘I don't think I would want to get in a fight with this guy in real life’.”