Life took an unexpected turn for Tom Selleck. Luckily for him, he had to make a hard choice between two great options. Looking back, it could be said that he chose the less lucrative path. But no matter how you slice it, he has been successful, and he is a household name. Interestingly enough, it’s hard to imagine now, but acting wasn’t even his main goal.
Instead, through a series of fortunes and good timing, he found himself in just the right scenarios and would come to embrace the television screen as we know him today. But this offers an interesting what-if scenario.
What if instead of pursuing the eventual successful TV series, he had instead elected to take on the lead role in one of the best-known movie franchises of all time?
Lucky Start For Tom Selleck?
The 79-year-old actor has made it clear before that his intention was never to be an actor. Instead, as he attended USC, his goal was to get a job like everyone else using his degree. In college, he majored in business administration and acting was the furthest thing from his mind. However, due to a series of fortunate events, he received a role as a basketball player for a Pepsi commercial. This eventually led to him being on The Dating Game as one of the eligible bachelors.
But in terms of being a universally known presence on the big screen or making a career out of reciting scripted lines, that was far from his original path of Tom Selleck. Any and every early success that he found his way, he took in stride, and as his number of offers increased, he embraced his sports mindset in pursuing and persevering through setbacks and failures.
What Could Have Been For Tom Selleck
Naturally, his talent was seen by more and more people, and he eventually found himself in front of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Little did he know that the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark would end up being a role that he would turn down. As he sat in front of the two people and recited his lines, there was interest in him playing the lead role.
However, to the surprise of some, the appeal was one-sided. Instead, he waited to receive the potential green light, and he wanted to be a part of the Magnum P.I. project. As he revealed in his memoir, You Never Know, the following:
On my drive home, I thought, Boy, that was pretty cool, no pressure, and having a face-to-face with two people whose work I love. And what a great diversion it was from my preoccupation with the outcome of my [Magnum] pilot.
We all know what Tom Selleck ended up deciding, but this remains one of the bigger what-ifs in TV series and movie history.
The Show Must Go On, Despite the Tom Selleck Decision
It’s clear that Spielberg and Lucas wanted him to play the lead role. But ultimately, Harrison Ford, as we all know, stepped in, as he must have been more than familiar with both leading people in charge, as Han Solo would once again make it to movie theaters, only this time with a hat.
Tom Selleck appears to have no regrets, nor should he; instead, it seems almost fitting that events unfolded the way that they did.
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When not focused on sports, Gabriel enjoys listening to music and finding the next great podcast. He’s also a fan of well-established voices and is unafraid of watching the same movie or TV show that he’s watched for the 400th time.
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