One of the most recognizable (and welcomed) faces in the TV biz, Tom Selleck has been working steadily in fan-pleasing projects for more than 50 years, from Magnum P.I. to the ending-in-2024 series Blue Bloods. Also taking into account his TV movie legacy as Jesse Stone and his cinematic efforts, the Emmy winner has run the gamut of on-screen stardom, but has rarely come across as a stereotypical celebrity, calling his extensive career “accidental.” That humble nature apparently extends to his upcoming memoir You Never Know, which took him around four years to put together. In longhand, no less.
Selleck celebrated his 79th birthday in January 2024, having first hit the small screen in 1969 in the series Lancer and Judd for the Defense, and has starred in dozens of shows and movies in the meantime. But instead of a tale of glitz and glamor, the actor tells People his story is one that often speaks on the topic of failure, and digs into how he’s spent this many years in a profession that he didn’t exactly fight his way into. As he put it:
If you’re going to get in the acting business, you better get an appetite for it. And I tried to communicate that... Because it was kind of a long road. . . . It is really the story of an accidental career. I’d never taken an acting class. I had no training, no desire.
Now, one could say that if he truly didn’t have any desire, then he would have let the first instance of failure keep him from ever trying to act again. That clearly didn’t happen, or else audiences never would have learned what Tom Selleck looks like in short-shorts on the beach. But his point is obviously still valid, in that he wasn’t someone who held acting up on a pedestal like other Hollywood dreamers, and yet still landed tons of success along the way thanks to a one-off Pepsi commercial and a Dating Game appearance.
To that end, he says people would make those kinds of comments about him after he became a household name as Thomas Magnum, with the assumption that he had stars in his eyes, or that he had illusions of acting grandeur. But that’s not so much the case, as he said:
I’ve never talked that way in my life. I just wanted to get a job and work.
And work, he certainly has, though that may be changing in the near-ish future. 2024 may or may not mark the end of Blue Bloods and the Reagan family dinners that Selleck has credited with the drama’s longevity. The actor has addressed the idea that he’s not ready to end it, and that there’s value in keeping it around, but it’s unclear at the moment if CBS will repeat S.W.A.T.’s un-cancellation decision with this show.
Even though millions of people are no doubt eager to read You Never Know when it hits stores and online retailers on May 7, Tom Selleck still took a pragmatic and thoughtful approach to it, explaining why his story isn’t so comparable to so many gossip-filled tell-alls:
I don’t have the hooks that a lot of people do. I didn’t rehabilitate myself or have this tragic life. I had my own share of certainly ups and downs, but I’ve been very fortunate.
The stories he regales and advice he imparts will hopefully inspire others in the acting field and beyond to relish in the joys of life with a positive attitude and appreciation. Just probably don’t expect Jim Morrison-esque drugged-out adventures from cover to cover.
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Selleck and his wife Jillie have been happily married since 1987, and says that these days, it’s her companionship and sense of humor that he loves the most. So she’ll probably pop up at least once or twice in his memoir, if not thousands more times.
You Never Know will be out in May 7, which is one week ahead of Blue Blood’s midseason finale on CBS. Head to our 2024 TV schedule to see what else is debuting in the near future.
