"I had George Lucas and Steven Spielberg on my side" — Tom Selleck opens up on almost being cast as Indiana Jones

In a surprising revelation, Tom Selleck, the 77-year-old Hollywood icon known for his role in 1980s television hit Magnum, P.I., revealed that he was the first choice to play Indiana Jones in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. On April 17, 2024, PEOPLE released an excerpt from Selleck’s new autobiography, You Never Know: A Memoir, slated for release in May 2024.

In his book, the actor recounted auditioning for the role around the same time he was waiting to hear whether his Magnum P.I. pilot would get picked up by CBS. After the audition, Selleck secured the role to play the titular character.

Tom Selleck opened up about his ambivalence after reading the script, which he described as “terrific” but “complicated." However, the star was undeterred, as the creator, George Lucas, and director Steven Spielberg were on his side.

"All of this was going to be, how do I put it, complicated. Extremely complicated. But hey, I had George Lucas and Steven Spielberg on my side."

However, Selleck declined the role after Magnum P.I. was sold to CBS, and Harrison Ford, 80, portrayed the role of the adventurous archaeologist.

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Tom Selleck details reading for the role of Dr Henry Walton in Indiana Jones

In his autobiography You Never Know: A Memoir, Tom Selleck opened up about reading for the lead role of Dr Henry Walton "Indiana Jones" in George Lucas and Steven Spielberg’s 1981 blockbuster.

In an excerpt published by PEOPLE, the Blue Bloods star recalled walking into a room to read for the lead and seeing just Spielberg and Lucas for the first time. Selleck confessed he was a fan of Star Wars and might have shared that during the audition. Selleck wrote —

"I was a big Star Wars fan, so I'm certain I brought that up. 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."

Tom Selleck elaborated that he was not allowed to see the script or test pages ahead of time but was provided with a few pages and a wardrobe with a hat and leather jacket to get into character. While Selleck admitted the audition went well, he did not expect to land the role. But he was optimistic about his prospects, with two potential projects in the pipeline.

"When I drove home, my head was full of thoughts. They're testing a lot of people. What if Magnum sells? What if it doesn't sell? This is the lead in the next big franchise after Star Wars, so the process is going to be a long one. So many good things were presenting themselves."

Tom Selleck recalled Steven Spielberg telling him, "We want you to play Indiana Jones," before proferring the entire script to share his take. However, Selleck, who loved the script, passed on the movie after Magnum P.I. was sold to CBS. Selleck, who played a private detective named Magnum in Hawaii, went on to star in the show for eight seasons between 1980 and 1988.

Meanwhile, the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark went to Harrison Ford. The Air Force One actor recently revealed to Yahoo! that he didn’t know Tom Selleck had originally been attached to the first movie, which spawned an entire franchise with five films produced between 1981 and 2023.