Why Tom Selleck Initially ‘Didn’t Like’ His Iconic ‘Magnum P.I.' Role

Tom Selleck revealed on a recent episode of Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast that he was initially uncomfortable with the fame that his iconic role in Magnum P.I. brought him.

Selleck starred in the series as Thomas Magnum, a hip investigator taking on cases in glamorous Hawaiian locales. The series made Selleck a household name after he’d spent over a decade taking on smaller roles in film and TV. When Danson noted that the role made Selleck “arguably one of the biggest stars in the world,” the star began recalling the “melancholy period” he spent filming the show in Hawaii.

“I didn’t like it,” Selleck said of his sudden fame. “Mainly because of family and a sense of privacy,” he explained. “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 Selleck quickly noted that he “wasn't going through it every day.” There were periods of time during Magnum P.I.’s production, particularly during the first season, where Selleck was distanced from the mania. “I had a lovely house in Hawaii. It was a tiny little house—a one-bedroom house,” he explained. “And 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…was great. I actually was living Magnum's life at the beach and stuff,” he said.

Selleck’s life quickly changed when the show became an instant hit, earning the actor Golden Globe and Emmy nominations every year from 1982 until 1986. He remains one of the most recognizable Hollywood stars, thanks in no small part to his signature mustache and memorable turns on classic series like Friends and Blue Bloods.

You can listen to Selleck’s full interview here.