'Jack Reacher' author says Tom Cruise lacks 'physicality' for role

Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Jack Reacher author Lee Child says Tom Cruise lacks the "physicality" to continue playing the role.

The 64-year-old British writer said in an interview with the BBC published Wednesday that Cruise will be replaced in an upcoming television reboot of his book series.

"Cruise, for all his talent, didn't have that physicality," Child told BBC Radio Manchester host Mike Sweeney.

Cruise portrayed Reacher in the 2012 movie Jack Reacher, which is based on Child's novel One Shot. The actor stands 5 feet, 7 inches, while Reacher is described as 6 feet, 5 inches tall.

"I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He's a really, really nice guy. We had a lot of fun. But ultimately the readers are right," Child said, referencing backlash to Cruise's casting. "The size of Reacher is really, really important and it's a big component of who he is."

"The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you're all a little nervous just for that first minute," he explained. "And Cruise, for all his talent, didn't have that physicality."

Child asked for fan help in choosing "the right actor" to replace Cruise. He previously defended Cruise's casting in an interview with The Washington Post in 2012.

"It was completely impossible to find a physical facsimile of Jack Reacher in Hollywood. There are none -- not even remotely close. The people you think are 6-feet-five and 250 pounds are not," the author said.

"[The movie] works very well, because Cruise is an odd mixture of two things. On the outside, he's a movie star and a celebrity. But on the inside, he's a character actor who wants to get into a role through the script, through the words, and wants to inhabit that world," he added.

Child released Past Tense, the 23rd book in the Jack Reacher book series, this month.