Which actor played Tom Clancy's field operative, Jack Ryan, in two Hollywood movies?

The well-known actor who played Tom Clancy's field operative, Jack Ryan, in two Hollywood movies was Harrison Ford. Ford is one of four actors to date who has portrayed Jack Ryan in the movies. The other three actors are Alec Baldwin, Chris Pine, and Ben Affleck.

Harrison Ford was the former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst, Jack Ryan, in "Patriot Games" (1992). At another point as Jack Ryan, Ford is appointed the acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence in the thriller "Clear and Present Danger" (1994).

Alec Baldwin was the first one to play Ryan. He did it in the U.S. espionage thriller film "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), which was produced by Mace Neufeld and directed by John McTiernan. After Ford, there was Ben Affleck who was Jack Ryan as a young government (CIA) analyst in the fourth spy film "The Sum of All Fears" (2002). This film was directed by Phil Alden Robinson. In 2014 in the fifth film in the series ("Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"), it is an action spy thriller which is directed by Kenneth Branagh. Chris Pine is the star in the leading role that features him as Jack Ryan, the fictional character which has been created by author Tom Clancy.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

Test your knowledge

What are your thoughts on this subject?

27 Comments

Carol Focht Cheney

Tom Clancy is my uncle and godfather.

mr mercer

Carol Focht Cheney, He and Louis L'Amour were my two favorite authors. I have read ALL of the books written by both!

mr mercer

Fran, Which one: Alec Baldwin, Jack Ryan, or Ben Affleck?

mr mercer

In the book "The Sum of All Fears," the antagonist was an aged Islamic cleric who could not bear the thought of peace between the Arab world and Israel. Because of pressure from CAIR, the bad guys in the movie version were changed to be German Neo-Nazis. It was another example of cowardly kowtowing to the PC guys. Muslims were not portrayed negatively in the book; in fact, the deranged cleric was obviously shown to be an EXCEPTION to the general Muslim population .

Fran

My favorite actor, so I'd better not have missed this one.

dlh

Thanks for info.

Todd Van Dell

Carol Focht Cheney, I have not read Tom's books, as they are all in 3rd person and I can only read 1st person novels these days. However, I have seen several movies based on his books and enjoyed them. I thought I recalled that Alec Baldwin was offered the chance to play Jack Ryan in the next Jack Ryan movie, and turned it down for fear of being typecast. Harrison Ford never seemed the least bit fazed about possibly being typecast. He played Han Solo in multiple Star Wars movies. He played Indiana Jones in 5 movies. Not to forget Jack Ryan twice. So, I think it is the actor who typecasts him or herself. Not the role he or she plays. I suspect Alec Baldwin's movie career has not been as expansive as it might have been, had he allowed himself the chance to play the same character more than once on the big screen. Not unlike he did when he joined the cast of 30 Rock as the same character, or as he does every time he mimics Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. But, one can never entirely predict the temperament of certain Hollywood actors.

methcu

The photo didn't don't look like Harrison Ford

littledick

Got it right, accidentally. Movies aren't my cup of tea.

Carol Focht Cheney

Romesh Chopra, Tom Clancy's books and movies are known around the world. His books have been translated into more than two dozen different languages.I saw many different translations on his bookshelves in his home library.

Carol Focht Cheney

Richard G Schwartz, Harrison Ford was the first choice to play Jack Ryan in Hunt For Red October but he was under contract for another movie and couldn't take the role. By the time Sum Of All Fears was filmed Ford at age 60 was too old to play 30 something Jack Ryan