He was granted a full music scholarship for singing, and started to attend college but dropped out "because [he] didn't feel fulfilled". He then went to Los Angeles, where he worked as a model for a few years.[9]
From 1999 to 2003, he attended Okaloosa Walton Community College, now Northwest Florida State College, as a dual-enrollment student and then graduated with an Associate of Arts degree.[10] He was a member of the Fine Arts Division's Soundsations and Madrigal Singers.[11][12][13]
Ritchson first gained celebrity status in 2004 when he appeared on American Idol as one of the top 87 contestants in the third season before being cut in Hollywood. His appearance on the show was noted for his striptease in one episode in which he charmed judge Paula Abdul during his audition.[15]
His television acting credits include a recurring guest star role on the television series Smallville as Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman,[16] a small role as an army officer in the 2006 Hallmark Channel movie Though None Go with Me alongside Cheryl Ladd, and the role of Lucian Manet in the 2009 Lifetime original film Nora Roberts' Midnight Bayou. His role in Smallville marked the first time that an actor portrayed Aquaman in an officially licensed live-action production.[16][17] His Smallville co-star, Justin Hartley, has since portrayed Aquaman in an unaired pilot of the same name. Ritchson reprised his role as Aquaman in the final season.[18] In 2009, he appeared on a third-season episode of Starz's Head Case in which he played a stripper. Ritchson also made an appearance on CSI: Miami, in which he played a dead victim in episode 19 of season 8. In 2011, he appeared in an episode of season 3 of 90210 as a love interest for main character Teddy Montgomery (Trevor Donovan).[19]
In 2017 he played the main character in the Syfy series Blood Drive.[25] In 2018, Ritchson played the recurring role of Hank Hall / Hawk in the DC Universe series Titans.[26] His initial deal was for just two episodes but he was promoted to a series regular for the second season. Producers decided to reduce the number of characters and Ritchson was written out of the series.[27]
In 2018 Ritchson was announced as the director, co-writer, and producer of Dark Web: Cicada 3301, a comedy-thriller film inspired by the eponymous organization.[33] He also co-starred as an NSA agent.[34] The film is the first original project of Phreaker Films, a film fund run by Ritchson.[33] The rights for Dark Web: Cicada 3301 were acquired by Lionsgate in 2020,[34] who released the film digitally on March 12, 2021.[35][36] In 2022, Ritchson joined the cast of Fast X.[37]
Other projects include an independent album called This Is Next Time, released in late 2005, and appearing in a Russian commercial for Orbit gum.[citation needed]
Ritchson also appears in a web series titled Enormous Friends with his Blue Mountain State co-star, Rob Ramsay.[38]
He supports the development of Christian films in Hollywood.[39]
Personal life
Ritchson lived for years in Florida with his wife Catherine and their three sons. In 2023 the couple decided to sell their home and live on the road, to allow Ritchson to spend more time with his family. The family stays in Airbnbs and hotels; his wife, a financial analyst, homeschools their sons.[40]
Ritchson has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and has spoken openly about his struggles with the condition.[41]
Ritchson is a professing Christian, and frequently discusses the significance of his Christian faith.[41] He started the YouTube channel InstaChurch, in January 2022, where he discusses his Christian convictions.[42]
On April 3, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter published an interview of Ritchson in which he says that he had once been sexually harassed by a "very famous photographer".[43]
^ abThough some sources state he was born in 1984,[1][2] this might be due to the fact that Ritchson's age was given as 20 when he auditioned for American Idol's third season in early 2004.[3] But the show was filmed several months prior, with auditions being held in August and September 2003. Ritchson states he was 39 years old in a February 2022 interview with Michael Rosenbaum,[4] he graduated in 2001, and several sources confirm the November 28, 1982, birth date.[5]