Tom Selleck Talks About Why He Hated Fame in the ’80s

Tom Selleck made his breakthrough playing the role of private investigator Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I. He was nominated for multiple Emmys and has since played more than 50 other roles in films and television.

But while his career has reached enormous heights since the 1980s, the actor has a love-hate relationship with fame.

In a new interview, the Blue Bloods star admitted that his runaway stardom caused him a lot of discomfort, as he’d catapulted himself to becoming one of the biggest stars in entertainment while still wanting to reclaim some privacy.

“I didn’t like it,” said Selleck, 79, as he recalled the sudden interest in his life.

‘Mainly because of my family and the feeling of privacy.’

The veteran movie star told People, “During interviews, I was asked questions I didn’t want to ask and didn’t want to answer.

“I tried, I said, ‘You better find a way and draw a line about what you’re going to talk about.’ It didn’t always work, but it just grew and I still can’t describe it well.

“But I didn’t experience it every day.”

Selleck then went on to talk about the life he led in the early days of his fame, saying he had “a beautiful one-bedroom house in Hawaii” that he rented before he could buy it.

Although the locals knew about his profession, they left him alone. An actors’ strike prevented them from starting filming, leaving his neighbors unaware of his fame.

“I really lived the life of Magnum, on the beach and all that,” he noted, comparing himself to the iconic character.

However, Selleck’s life changed dramatically when the series became so popular that he won a Golden Globe and Emmy Award for it every year from 1982 to 1986.

“It really took some getting used to, I don’t know,” he admitted.

What Selleck was grateful for was that the filming took place in Hawaii.

He imagined that if the filming had taken place in Los Angeles and the series had become a success there, it would have been more difficult to deal with the attention.

“I don’t understand how people do that. I had a huge buffer, and that was a blessing.”

TV legend Selleck is the proud father of two adult children.

He adopted his stepson Kevin Shepard in August 1987, when Shepard was 21, and also has a daughter Hannah Margaret Selleck.

In 2012, Selleck told People how much his family means to him, saying he quit his successful show in 1988 so they could spend more time together.

“I left Magnum to start a family,” he stated.

“It took me a long time to get off the train, but I really try to keep my balance, and this ranch has helped me with that.”

On the acting front, it was announced in late 2023 that the CBS drama Blue Bloods would end its 14th season after 14 years. Filming wrapped earlier this summer.

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