Joe Manganiello's team suspected Tom Cruise of torpedoing his casting in Amazon's Jack Reacher show

Joe Manganiello's team suspected Tom Cruise may have sabotaged his chances of playing Jack Reacher, and they think his ex-wife, Sofia Vergara, could have been the reason. In his new memoir Bloodlines, the Magic Mike star claims he was a frontrunner to play the imposing literary character in Amazon's TV adaptation before the role unexpectedly went to someone else. Manganiello writes that he met with Skydance media executive Don Granger in January 2020 to discuss the franchise, including the backlash over Cruise's casting in the original movies. Reacher is described in author Lee Child's books as standing 6'5", while Cruise is famously 5'7". According to Manganiello, Granger was convinced he was the perfect fit, telling him, You were the closest thing to Jack Reacher that I've ever met in my entire life. Manganiello also claims he impressed showrunner Nick Santora so much that Santora began writing the rest of the season with him in mind. He says Skydance owner David Ellison and Child were also thrilled with his performance. But things allegedly took a turn when Manganiello was presented to Amazon executive Jen Salke. The actor writes that Salke was furious she had been left out of the casting process and felt she was being pushed into a decision made by a group of predominantly male producers. When Manganiello ultimately lost out on the part, his team began speculating about what went wrong. In the memoir, he claims they wondered whether Cruise, who had served as an executive producer on the show, might have intervened and vetoed his casting because of Vergara. Cruise and Vergara reportedly dated in 2005, years before she married Manganiello in 2015. The couple announced their separation in 2023. However, Manganiello's theory remains speculation, and Cruise is not listed on IMDb as part of the Reacher production.