His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series Magnum, P. From โ, he portrayed troubled small-town police chief Jesse Stone in nine television films based on the Robert B. Parker novels. He has also appeared in more than 50 other film and television roles since Magnum, P. Baseball , and Lassiter. He appeared in recurring television roles as Monica Geller's love interest Dr.
Cooper on Las Vegas. He also had a lead role in the television western film The Sacketts , based on two of Louis L'Amour 's books. He also served as an infantryman in the California Army National Guard from to , attaining the rank of sergeant. Selleck is of mostly English descent, although he also has some German ancestry. Through a paternal line, Selleck is a direct descendant of English colonist David Selleck who moved to Massachusetts from Somerset, England, in Through this line, Selleck is of the 11th generation of his family born in North America.
Selleck's family moved to Sherman Oaks , California, in While he was majoring in Business Administration , a drama coach suggested Selleck try acting and, in his senior year, he dropped out of the university. Selleck's first television appearance was as a college senior on The Dating Game in and again in Soon after, he appeared in commercials for products such as Pepsi-Cola. He began his career with bit parts in smaller movies, including Myra Breckinridge invited on the set by Mae West , [ 18 ] Coma , and The Seven Minutes.
He appeared in a number of TV series, mini-series and TV movies. He was also the face of Salem cigarettes and Revlon 's Chaz cologne. He was also in a Safeguard deodorant soap commercial In , he starred in the B-movie Daughters of Satan. Selleck is an avid outdoorsman , marksman and firearms collector.
The Shadow Riders followed in Then Selleck shifted gears, portraying a cat burglar in s London in Lassiter in Selleck's big break came when he was cast in the lead role as Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P. The producers would not release the actor for other projects, so Selleck had to pass on the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark , which meant that the role went to actor Harrison Ford instead.
