UPSTAGING FORMER MH cover guy Alan Ritchson isn’t easy, especially on Reacher, the Prime Video series that positions the character he plays as larger than just about everyone he encounters. So when promos for the currently-streaming Season 3 were first revealed, viewers received quite a shock when they first saw a clip of their hero looking up at an opponent who made him look (almost) scrawny. They were looking at Olivier Richters, a.k.a. “The Dutch Giant,” the 7’2” 352-pound bodybuilder-turned-actor who plays Paulie, a private security agent who immediately pushes Reacher’s buttons—and provides the series its first villain who might realistically stand blow-for-blow with the protagonist and win.

Richters should be a familiar face—or at least, a familiar massive, imposing presence—since he’s appeared in blockbusters like Black Widow, The King’s Man, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. He also holds the title of “The World’s Tallest Bodybuilder,” and posts regular YouTube videos of his training exploits to well over 300,000 subscribers.

Richters had a long path to reach his current physique, along which he experimented with different training splits. He tells MH that he started with a full-body split, but stopped seeing progress. Next, he tried an upper-lower split—and when gains stopped, he moved on to a “bro split.” Eventually, he linked up with a coach, who he calls the “best in Holland.” Once they dialed in his routine to focus on less volume, but higher intensity, he found what really worked for him. That brought him to where he is now—ready to beat up Reacher.