Why Tom Selleck Found Early Magnum, P.I. Fame Challenging: ‘It Was a Lot to Adjust To’

Tom Selleck recently shared his feelings about the sudden fame he experienced in the 1980s during an episode of the podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. At 79, the Blue Bloods star reflected on a “melancholy period in Hawaii” while waiting to film the first season of Magnum, P.I. amid the 1980 SAG-AFTRA strike.

The show, where Selleck portrayed private investigator Thomas Magnum, was a turning point in his career after nearly a decade of smaller roles in films and TV. Danson remarked that during the peak of the series, Selleck was “arguably one of the biggest stars in the world.” Selleck admitted, “I didn’t like it,” citing concerns for his family and privacy.

He explained that the interview questions he faced often made him uncomfortable. “I was trying to find a way to set boundaries on what I was willing to discuss. I didn’t always succeed, and it just grew; I still can’t quite describe it.”

In the early days of the show, he found some insulation from the fame, enjoying a lifestyle reminiscent of his character. “I had a lovely little one-bedroom house in Hawaii,” he said. “I rented it initially, then bought it. It was the first house I could afford. I belonged to a local club, the Outrigger Canoe Club, where people knew I was an actor but didn’t treat me like a celebrity. During the actors’ strike, while we couldn’t start filming, I was living a life like Magnum’s, at the beach and enjoying the local scene.”

However, once the show became a hit, everything changed. Selleck won his first People’s Choice Award in 1981 and received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations from 1982 to 1986. “It was a lot to adjust to,” he admitted.

Shooting in Hawaii helped ease the transition. “If we had been filming in L.A. and got the same attention, I don’t know how people handle that,” he noted. “Living in Hawaii provided a huge buffer, and that was a blessing.”