Hollywood is a place where dreams come true, but only the most brilliant and fortunate people can get there and stay. Having a successful career in the film industry is not something many people can boast about, but fortunately for us, Tom Selleck is one of those celebrities who has been on television for a long time. This actor’s big break came when he was cast in the starring role as Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I., which earned him five Emmy Award nominations and one win in 1985.
Before his rise to fame, he had minor roles in films and television shows, appeared in several advertisements, and appeared on The Dating Game twice. He described the game show as humiliating and embarrassing. I lost. Twice. I wasn’t funny or glib.” Selleck was then offered a position on 20th Century Fox’s talent program, where he worked for around two years before leaving for six months of active military. When he returned, he was dropped, but this did not dampen his spirit.
“The luckiest thing that happened was that I didn’t get a real job until I was 35,” Selleck told the AARP. “When I was 25, I looked 35 but sounded fifteen. There are several very brilliant performers who make it as younger leading males but never progress because the audience will not accept them as adults.” Magnum P.I. arrived just as he was about to give up on his acting career.
“I think if Magnum hadn’t worked out, I’d never have worked again in this business,” he told Closer Weekly.Selleck has co-starred in the television series Blue Bloods since 2010, as Frank Reagan, the commissioner of the New York City Police Department. The show has been renewed for its thirteenth season.
Selleck has done the majority of the stunts himself throughout his long career, but it appears that this decision has taken its toll, and his body isn’t what it once was. “My back’s kind of messed up,” Selleck admitted. “When you do stunts in movies—which I do a lot of—you take a risk, but you also spend a lot of time sitting. So you might complete a fight scene and then sit in your chair, and there’s no personal trainer telling you, ‘Okay, we’re ready to go, but Tom needs ten minutes of stretching and warm-up.'”
“And I think the price,” he said, “I see it with colleagues; I talk to them occasionally. You just see the cost of all those stunts. They weren’t that difficult, but I guess it’s the stop-and-go of everything.”The actor stays in shape by working on his ranch in Ventura, California. He is also extremely passionate about horses, which he has passed on to his daughter.
Selleck and wife Jillie Mack have been married for 35 years. What makes their relationship one of the strongest in Hollywood is that he constantly prioritizes his family. Selleck told People in 2012 that he quit Magnum to start a family. “It took a long time to get off the train, but I try very hard to have balance, and this ranch has helped me do that.”
“We both thought it was the best environment for Hannah to grow up,” he said. We wish Tom Selleck good health.