So, you’ve been binge-watching Reacher on Prime Video and you’re stuck on one specific face. Specifically, the sharp-witted, tough-as-nails cop who actually stands her ground against a 6'5" walking tank. Willa Fitzgerald is the actress who played Roscoe on Reacher, and honestly, she’s a huge reason why that first season felt so grounded.
She played Officer Roscoe Conklin.
In a show where Alan Ritchson is busy snapping femurs and uncovering massive counterfeit rings, you’d think a local cop might get overshadowed. Nope. Not Fitzgerald. She brought this weirdly perfect mix of Southern grit and Yale-educated precision to the role of a Margrave police officer. It wasn't just about being a "love interest." She felt like a real person with a badge and a massive chip on her shoulder regarding her family’s legacy in that corrupt little town.
Who is Willa Fitzgerald?
If you feel like you’ve seen her before, you probably have. She’s been everywhere. Long before she was putting Jack Reacher in a holding cell, she was the lead in MTV’s Scream series. She played Emma Duval.
She’s a Nashville native, which explains why that Georgia accent in Reacher felt so natural—though she actually worked with a dialect coach, Ria Nolan, to make sure it was specifically "regional Georgia" and not just a generic Southern drawl. It’s those tiny details that make her performance pop. She’s not just "acting" Southern; she’s living in the humidity of it.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Cast of Hold Your Breath 2024 Makes This Dust Bowl Horror Actually Work
Fitzgerald isn't some overnight success. She’s got a BA in theater studies from Yale. That academic background shows up in how she approaches characters. She’s gone on record saying she loves the "prep" phase—diving into the formative experiences of a character to figure out why they act the way they do. With Roscoe, that meant understanding the weight of being an orphan in a town where your ancestors basically built the foundations.
Why Roscoe Conklin Still Matters
Even as the show moves into Season 2, Season 3, and beyond, fans are still obsessed with Roscoe. Why? Because the chemistry was electric. In the books by Lee Child (specifically Killing Floor), Roscoe is a strong character, but Fitzgerald gave her a "spitfire" quality that made her Reacher's equal.
What most people get wrong about her role
Some viewers think she was just there for the romance. That’s a mistake. Roscoe was the moral compass of Margrave. While Reacher was the blunt force instrument, she was the one with the local knowledge and the personal stakes. Remember the scene where she finds out her car was vandalized by KJ Kliner? She didn't just cry about it; she was ready to go to war.
Here are a few things that made her portrayal of Roscoe Conklin stand out:
🔗 Read more: Is Steven Weber Leaving Chicago Med? What Really Happened With Dean Archer
- The physicality: She did a lot of her own action beats. She’s mentioned in interviews that she loves fight choreography.
- The deadpan humor: Her back-and-forth with Alan Ritchson and Malcolm Goodwin (who played Oscar Finlay) provided the much-needed levity in a show that features a lot of brutal murders.
- The independence: Unlike many female leads in action shows, Roscoe never felt like she needed saving. She was usually the one doing the saving, or at least the heavy lifting in the investigation.
Life After Margrave: Where is Willa Fitzgerald Now?
If you're missing her on Reacher, you should definitely check out her work in The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix. She plays the younger version of Madeline Usher, and she is terrifyingly good. It’s a complete 180 from the "good cop" vibes of Roscoe. In that show, she’s ambitious, cold, and calculated.
She also recently starred in the thriller Strange Darling (2024), which got a lot of buzz for being a total mind-bender. She’s proven she can handle everything from period dramas like Little Women (where she played Meg March) to high-octane thrillers.
Will Roscoe Return to Reacher?
This is the million-dollar question. The show follows the books, which means Reacher usually leaves his friends behind at the end of every "mission." He’s a drifter. That’s his whole thing.
However, fans have been vocal about wanting her back. There’s been speculation about Season 3 or 4 potentially bringing back familiar faces. While there’s no official word that she’s returning as a series regular, the door in the Reacher universe is never truly closed. In the world of TV, if the fans want it enough, showrunners often find a way to make a cameo happen.
💡 You might also like: Is Heroes and Villains Legit? What You Need to Know Before Buying
Beyond the Screen
Willa is more than just an actress. She’s a serious runner—like, NYC Marathon runner. She actually used running as a way to stay "meditative" while filming the intense schedule of Reacher. She’s also a dog mom to two rescues named Duck and Goose. Basically, she’s as cool in real life as she is on screen.
Practical Steps for Reacher Fans
If you want to dive deeper into the world of the actress who played Roscoe on Reacher, here is what you should do next:
- Watch "The Fall of the House of Usher": It’s the best way to see her range. She mimics the cadence of the older actress (Mary McDonnell) so well it’s spooky.
- Follow her projects: Look for Regretting You and A House of Dynamite, both released around late 2025.
- Read "Killing Floor": If you haven't read the Lee Child book that Season 1 was based on, do it. You'll see exactly how much life Willa breathed into the character compared to the page.
Willa Fitzgerald didn't just play a cop; she created a character that people are still talking about years after her season ended. Whether she ever puts the Margrave PD uniform back on or not, she’s cemented her place as a fan favorite.