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.
Prior to his rise to fame, he had minor roles in films and television shows, appeared in a number of advertisements, and appeared on The Dating Game twice. He described the game show as humiliating and embarrassing. I lost. Twice. I wasn’t really funny or glib.” Selleck was then offered a position on 20th Century Fox’s talent program, where he worked 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 shared with AARP. “When I was 25, I looked 35 but sounded 15. There are a lot of very good actors who make it as younger leading men but don’t graduate — because the audience won’t accept them as grown up.”
Magnum P.I. came at the time when he was almost ready to give up chasing a career as an actor. “I think if Magnum hadn’t worked out, I’d never have worked again in this business,” he shared in an interview with Closer Weekly.
Ever since 2010, Selleck has been a co-star in the television series Blue Bloods where he plays Frank Reagan, the commissioner of the New York City Police Department. The show has been renewed for its 13th season.
Over the course of his career of many years, Selleck has done most of the stunts himself, but as it turns out, this decision has taken its toll and his body isn’t the way it was.
“My back’s kind of messed up,” Selleck shared.
“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 keeps in shape by working on his ranch in Ventura, California. He’s also very passionate about horses, love he has passed down to his daughter.
Selleck has been married to wife Jillie Mack for 35 years. What makes their union one of the strongest in Hollywood is that he always puts his family first.
Speaking to People, Selleck said in 2012, “I quit Magnum to have 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,” his wife added.
