“Tom Selleck Opens Up About His Reluctant Journey into Acting and the Risks He Took”
A stray golf ball nearly led to an early encounter between Tom Selleck and James Garner, long before their collaboration on The Rockford Files. “I once hit an errant shot on a par-three course, and it almost struck Jim Garner,” Tom recalls. “I never mentioned that to him!”
Tom is sharing many untold stories in his new memoir, You Never Know. In it, the Sherman Oaks native recounts his journey from a disinterested USC student to one of Hollywood’s cherished actors. “I certainly didn’t want to be an actor. It never crossed my mind,” says Tom, now 79, during an appearance at New York’s 92nd Street Y.
At 35, Tom was offered his big break with CBS’s Magnum, P.I. in 1980. “Nobody knew who I was. They probably just saw me as a guy on a Salem billboard smoking a menthol cigarette,” he jokes. While many actors would have celebrated such an opportunity, Tom was initially disillusioned with the original Magnum script and felt cornered into accepting the role.
At the same time, Tom was making guest appearances on The Rockford Files as the private investigator Lance White. “I just adored James Garner,” Tom says of the late star, who imparted valuable advice in his calm, measured manner. “He told me, ‘I’m not giving you advice, but I’ll say this: You have no power. But if they want you, you’ll never have more power than you do right now.’”
Tom took this to heart and initially turned down the Magnum role. Eventually, CBS agreed to allow him more creative control over Thomas Magnum and the show’s direction. “If that little ultimatum hadn’t worked out, I might never have worked again,” Tom admits. “But taking risks is part of seizing opportunities.”
Sometimes, making the most of a chance involves sacrifices. Before Magnum, P.I. debuted, Tom was considered for the role of Indiana Jones in Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. He hoped to juggle both projects, but the network vetoed the idea, and Harrison Ford ultimately landed the role. “It was OK. Magnum wasn’t a consolation prize,” Tom reflects. “It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me—until Raiders came along.”
In 2010, Tom returned to television as Police Commissioner Frank Reagan on Blue Bloods, a role that combines his dedication to family with the challenges of leadership.
Reflecting on his journey, Tom appreciates the advice his father, Robert, gave him about pursuing a career in show business. “He thought for a moment and said, ‘Look, it’s one of those special occupations. You don’t want to reach 35 and wonder what if,’” Tom remembers.
As Tom was leaving the room, his father added one more piece of advice, seemingly meant to be heard but not necessarily by Tom. “He said, ‘Just don’t let them change you.’ I understood how difficult that was for him, given all the horror stories he’d heard. His advice was clear: Take the risk.”
