Tom Selleck reveals why he hated Magnum P.I. fame after becoming 80s icon

24 September 2024, 15:02

His moustache was the envy of every man in the world.

That's because his turn as a Hawaii-based Private Investigator in Magnum P.I. transformed Tom Selleck into a global icon.

Thanks to his effortless charm, Hawaiian shirts, rugged good looks, and the aforementioned facial hair, Selleck became an immediate sex and style icon.

In fact, the series ensured that the titular Magnum P.I. was a cultural signifier of the entire eighties.

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But whilst Selleck achieved international success and notoriety - including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1985 - it wasn't plain sailing behind the scenes.

In a new interview with actors Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson on their podcast series, Selleck reveals that he "didn't like" becoming "arguably one of the biggest stars in the world."

Appearing as a guest on Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes) - in his first-ever podcast interview - the Blue Bloods star opened up about his drastic rise to international stardom.

"I didn’t like it," Selleck said of his breakthrough fame. "Mainly because of family and a sense of privacy.

"I started getting asked questions in interviews that I didn't want to say - give an answer to. I was trying to - I said, ‘You better find a way and find a line about what you're going to talk about.'

"I didn't always succeed, but it just grew, and I still can't quite describe it. But I wasn't going through it every day."

The 79-year-old actor reflected on his life before Magnum P.I. and being shielded from the hype as he was living a life similar to the character.

"I had a lovely house in Hawaii. It was a tiny little house - a one-bedroom house. I rented it. I later bought it. It's the first house I could ever afford.

"I belonged to a place called the Outrigger Canoe Club, and that was local people. And, yeah, they kinda knew I was an actor, but that time - while the actors were on strike, and we couldn't start the show, start shooting - was great.

"I actually was living Magnum's life at the beach and stuff," he added. Maybe the Hawaiian shirts were rubbing off on him.

All that changed after the first series attracted enormous critical attention and became a major success.

In turn, Selleck was now a star of prime-time television in the US and beyond, earning the actor his first People’s Choice Award in 1981 as well as Golden Globe and Emmy nominations every year from 1982 to 1986.

“It was really, I don't know, a lot to adjust to, I think,” he told Ted Danson. "Say the same show was in L.A., and it got the same kind of heat.

"I don't know how people do that. I had this huge buffer, and it was a blessing."

Magnum P.I. became a cultural phenomenon, though by 1988, Selleck decided to bow out as he wanted to spend more time with his family.

In 1987, he adopted his stepson Kevin Shepard at the age of 21, and also has a daughter, Hannah Margaret Selleck, with his second wife Jillie Mack.

It looks like Selleck will have much more time with his family soon, as last year it was announced CBS' American police drama Blue Bloods was ceasing with its 14th season which was filmed earlier this summer.