Tom Selleck Reflects on Early Career Challenges and Lack of Serious Recognition

Tom Selleck Opens Up About Struggles for Recognition Early in His Career

At 79 years old, Tom Selleck became a household name through his iconic role as Thomas Magnum in the 1980s detective series Magnum P.I. However, Selleck admits that before his breakthrough, he faced significant challenges in being taken seriously in Hollywood.

In an interview, Selleck reflected on his early career struggles, noting that his good looks initially worked against him. “Everybody has a cross to bear as an actor, and everybody has a task to be taken seriously,” he said. “In the age I was going into acting, Dustin Hoffman didn’t have as tough a time getting to be taken seriously. I’m sure he did for years, but my first acting coach said, ‘Look, you walk through the door, you’re 6ft 4in, you’re pretty good-looking, Tom, you have to deliver that.'”

He continued, “And that was a struggle – in that era it was probably harder to be taken seriously [looking like him] than in the 1950s. Unless you delivered. I think a lot of the time I walked in the door and they didn’t take me seriously.”

Selleck also discussed his experiences with fame and privacy, revealing his discomfort with the notion that a loss of privacy is an inevitable part of being famous. He recalled the impact of his rising fame on his first marriage to Jacqueline Ray, noting that she endured significant challenges during that time. “I have never been totally comfortable with the expression ‘it goes with the territory’ – people who say that have probably never been in the territory,” Selleck explained. “But I had to find a way to keep at least some part of me private. Jacki got the rough end of it. They said I left her because of Magnum, but we split up about a year before the pilot, so all those things were a little bruising.”