Before playing patriarch Frank Reagan on “Blue Bloods,” Tom Selleck starred in the beloved 1980s crime drama “Magnum, P.I.” — and he even pushed CBS to reshape the series into something very different from its original concept.
According to an AARP interview with Selleck, private investigator Thomas Magnum was initially conceived as a James Bond-style character. But Selleck envisioned the lead differently, pitching a version inspired by the late James Garner‘s Jim Rockford of the 1970s detective drama “The Rockford Files.”
Rockford himself was created by Roy Huggins as a more laid-back descendant of Bret Maverick, the charmingly informal lead of the 1950s Western series “Maverick,” another role played by Garner. Selleck seemed to connect with that more relaxed take on the detective archetype.
Following that same approach, Selleck asserted that Magnum should also be a relaxed and fun-loving guy you could often find wearing a Hawaiian shirt and enjoying a beer — but who also happens to be a serious private eye.
Audiences connected with Tom Selleck’s version of Magnum, P.I.
“I said, ‘I don’t want to be Rockford, but I want to do something like that, where the guy is fallible,'” Tom Selleck told AARP of his vision for the show’s lead. The actor also had a recurring role on “The Rockford Files,” so the inspiration was definitely close to home.
On top of being an average Joe and a more easygoing version of a detective, Selleck also pushed for Magnum’s history as a former Navy SEAL who served in the Vietnam War to remain an important part of the character. Initially, CBS wasn’t interested in the actor’s fleshed-out concept — but the network eventually agreed to try Selleck’s full-package version of the investigator anyway. It ended up becoming the version fans know and love to this day, likely because audiences could see themselves in Magnum’s everyman qualities.
In fact, Selleck’s version of the character became so culturally impactful over the years that the Smithsonian acquired legendary prop items from the series for the National Museum of American History collection, including Magnum’s beloved Hawaiian shirt.
Whether audiences realize it or not, “Magnum, P.I.” is ultimately remembered for Selleck’s smart vision, and the strong performance that came from CBS giving that vision a chance.
