When a movie studio needs a big guy to dish out the hurt, they turn to Alan Ritchson. He’s killing it on the small screen on “Reacher” — wrecking his body in the process – and also has an exciting action movie coming out called “Motor City” where he’s mostly silent, letting his fists do the talking. But he’s no newbie to these kinds of roles, and you can see one of his earlier performances on Netflix very soon. Of course, you won’t be able to see him, as it’s a motion-capture role in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” 

Ritchson plays the rude but cool Raphael, the strongest of the turtles, which makes sense given his physique. The 2014 film drops on the streaming platform on October 17, offering the story of the turtles’ origin and how they came to be proficient warriors. Despite lackluster reviews, the movie still managed to gross $485 million globally at the box office. That was good enough to give it a sequel, 2016’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” which saw Ritchson return. A few awesome moments helped give “Out of the Shadows” some better reviews, but it grossed around half of what the first one did, meaning this version of the franchise came to a disappointing conclusion after just two movies. 

“Out of the Shadows” also becomes available on Netflix on October 17, so you can see whether this duology deserves the hate it gets. But if you absolutely have to watch the movies right this second, they’re also available on Paramount+. 

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have gone through several iterations on the big screen, and the 2010s-era live-action films aren’t exactly held in the highest regard. In fact, they often rank amongst the worst “TMNT” movies ever made, but they do have some fans out there. However, one individual who probably isn’t going to rewatch them on Netflix when they become available on October 17 is Alan Ritchson himself.

Years after his second “TMNT” film came out, Ritchson appeared on Collider’s podcast to talk about everything he hated while making the movies. “‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ was the worst production experience I’ve ever had,” he said. “It made me hate life so much. I hated life on that show. They were so bad to us.” He spoke about all of the broken promises the production made to him and the other actors who did motion-capture for the turtles, like how they would play an active role in promoting the movie, which didn’t come to pass. According to Ritchson, it also didn’t pay that well, adding more insult to injury. 

Fortunately, Ritchson has bounced back in a big way, finding immense success on “Reacher,” which he seems to enjoy doing a lot more. Plus the “TMNT” franchise seems to be on much better footing than it was in the 2010s, with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2” in the pipeline, as well as a live-action adaptation of “The Last Ronin” that’s still in development.