'Reacher' Star Alan Ritchson Quit Modeling After Being Sexually Assaulted by Famous Photographer

Ritchson -- best known for his work on Prime Video's Reacher -- started his career as a model and labeled the industry as "legalized sex trafficking" in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"The industry is not regulated, and 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," the 41-year-old actor told the publication. "The number of times and situations where I was put in horrific environments where sexual abuse was the goal and the paycheck that you were desperate for in order to survive was the carrot, I can't count on two hands. It was quite often."

The interview then turned to his own sexual assault experience. Though he didn't give any names, he recalled a time his agent booked him for a shoot for a "very famous photographer."

"I was sent into a hotel room to do nudes with the promise that if I did the shoot, he would offer me a very lucrative campaign for a magazine and a clothing line," he said. However, that is not what ended up happening, according to Ritchson.

"I was sexually assaulted by this guy. I left and drove straight to the agency that I was at in L.A. I stormed in and said, 'F--k you for sending me there,'" Ritchson recalled, adding that he believed his agent knew about the person's predatory behavior.

"'You knew what was going to happen, and you did it anyway.' There was a coy smile [on this agent's face], knowing he got caught. 'It's OK,' he said. 'Not a big deal, calm down. I won't send you back there. I know he's a little aggressive.' I said, ‘No! F--k you!' I told them to never call me again. I quit the industry," Ritchson said.

At the time, Ritchson said he was "one of the highest paid" at his agency. The actor also revealed it was the last photoshoot he ever did and the pictures were "never seen or published" -- telling the outlet, "That was it. I swore it off and thank God acting found me at the exact same time so I was able to make a switch to a new career, but it left some scars," he said.

In the same interview, Ritchson also opened up about his suicide attempt in 2019.

"I hung myself. It all happened so fast, and I was dangling there," he told the publication, saying it did it in the attic of his home.

Ritchson said he then had a vision of his three sons -- who are all younger than 12 -- in their thirties, telling him, "not to do it, and told me that they wanted me to be here, alive and part of their lives."

Using his experience doing "a million pull-ups," the buff actor was able to pull himself up. He was then diagnosed as bipolar, which he's opened up about in the past.

The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline -- 800.656.HOPE (4673) -- provides free, 24/7 support for those in need.