Thomas William Selleck (born January 29, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actor, TV producer, writer, and political activist.
A former collegiate basketball and baseball player at USC – where he majored in business administration before dropping out to pursue acting – Selleck's early career was filled with appearances in commercials and minor roles as boyfriends, best friends, cowboys, cops, and lawyers. In 1980, he landed his first big (no, make that frickin' huge) break when he was cast as Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I., a role he portrayed until the show's cancellation eight years later. During his time on Magnum, he became one of the biggest and most bankable stars on television.
Selleck was offered the lead role in a little film called Raiders of the Lost Ark and even screen tested for it, but was ultimately forced to turn it down due to the producers of Magnum refusing to release him for other projects. The role of Indiana Jones ended up going to some guy named Harrison Ford instead.
After Magnum, he turned to film almost exclusively, appearing in Runaway, High Road to China, Mr. Baseball, Three Men and a Baby, and Quigley Down Under, a role that he considers his personal best. In 1997, the solidly conservative Selleck played against type to portray an openly gay reporter who has an affair with Kevin Kline in In & Out. These days he's mostly back to television, starring as NYPD Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in the regular series Blue Bloods and appearing in the Jesse Stone series of TV movies.
Selleck is an avid gun collector, and is a member of the NRA; which once led to an unfortunate incident on The Rosie O'Donnell Show where the very liberal Rosie deviated from their original topic of his current acting projects to roast him about his conservative politics, which, ironically, had more viewers siding with him than with her.note He lives on an avocado farm, which he operates himself, citing that he works "for less than anyone I can hire."
Tropes relating to Mr. Selleck's works:
- Manly Facial Hair: He's known for playing tough-as-nails characters with mustaches.
- Promoted Fanboy: He's a longtime fan of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers, who actually gave him a brief contract so he could have a few at-bats during a Spring Training game during the late '70s. That Tigers hat you see his iconic character Magnum wearing on Magnum, P.I.? That's the exact same hat Selleck himself wore during the Spring Training game.note His baseball skills are also shown off in Mr. Baseball, likely as a tribute to his Tigers (coincidentally the fictional Dragons team, also sports the "D" on their hats, though it's a much more simple "D" compared to the Tigers' iconic Old English version.)
- Tranquil Fury: Selleck is a pretty big guy (6'4"), and has always used this to his advantage when his characters get angry: he never yells or raises his voice, but when he wants to look pissed off, he can look pissed off.
- What Could Have Been: He was Steven Spielberg's first choice for the role of Indiana Jones, but had to turn down the role because of contractual obligations to Magnum, P.I.. Amusingly in hindsight, production on the show was pushed back far enough due to a strike that Selleck very well could have shot Raiders of the Lost Ark, but by then Harrison Ford had already been cast.
