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6[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tom_selleck.jpg]]
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8->''"I was planning to go into Architecture. But when I arrived (to sign up for courses) Architecture was filled up. Acting was right next to it. So I signed up for acting instead."''
9-->-- '''Tom Selleck'''
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11Thomas William Selleck (born January 29, 1945 in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}}, Michigan) is an American actor, TV producer, writer, and political activist.
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13A 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 ''Series/MagnumPI'', 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.
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15Selleck [[WhatCouldHaveBeen was offered the lead role]] in a little film called ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' 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 Franchise/IndianaJones ended up going to some guy named Creator/HarrisonFord instead.
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17After ''Magnum'', he turned to film almost exclusively, appearing in ''Film/{{Runaway}}'', ''High Road to China,'' ''Film/MrBaseball'', ''Film/ThreeMenAndABaby'', and ''Film/QuigleyDownUnder'', 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 Creator/KevinKline in ''Film/InAndOut''. These days he's mostly back to television, starring as NYPD Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in the regular series ''Series/BlueBloods'' and appearing in the ''Literature/JesseStone'' series of TV movies.
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19Selleck is an avid gun collector, and is a member of the NRA; which once led to an incident on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' where the very liberal Creator/{{Rosie|ODonnell}} deviated from their original topic of his current acting projects to roast him about his conservative politics, [[UnintentionallySympathetic which, ironically, had more viewers siding with him than with her.]][[note]]For the record, Selleck is ''not'' a Republican. He is an independent.[[/note]] He lives on an avocado farm, which he operates himself, citing that he works "for less than anyone I can hire."
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22!!Tropes relating to Mr. Selleck's works:
23* ManlyFacialHair: He's known for playing tough-as-nails characters with mustaches.
24* PromotedFanboy: He's a longtime fan of UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball'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 ''Series/MagnumPI''? That's the exact same hat Selleck himself wore during the Spring Training game.[[note]] Which he owns himself and still has to this day. [[/note]] His baseball skills are also shown off in ''Film/MrBaseball'', 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.)
25* TranquilFury: 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''.
26* WhatCouldHaveBeen: He was Creator/StevenSpielberg's first choice for the role of Franchise/IndianaJones, but had to turn down the role because of contractual obligations to ''Series/MagnumPI''. Amusingly in hindsight, production on the show was pushed back far enough due to a strike that Selleck very well could have shot ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', but by then Creator/HarrisonFord had already been cast.

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