Tom Selleck: It's a tough life!

Mention the name Tom Selleck and what comes to mind?

Yes, Magnum P.I., the landmark hit TV series that won him not only legions of fans around the world but also Best Actor awards. Selleck has played other memorable TV characters, including Jesse Stone in the successful franchise, and movie characters, too. But I remember him best as one of the three fathers (with Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg) in Three Men and a Baby for a reason that you will know in a while. One of his movies that made me laugh was Her Alibi (1989) because of a scene where a Filipina playing the maid delivered a punch-line in Tagalog while Selleck and company are retching after eating rotten food.

I look forward to watching Selleck in the second season of the CBS hit series Blue Bloods, which premieres on March 31 (a Saturday) at 10:45 p.m. on AXN, where he plays the lead character Francis Reagan, the 58-year-old patriarch of not only his own family but also of New York City which he serves as a Police Commissioner fed up with city-government cronyism. He’s a cop’s cop who rose from the ranks, popular with his command but not with the powers-that-be.

Conversations did an exclusive (for the Philippines) phone interview with Selleck (from Los Angeles where he lives with his wife, actress Jillie Mack, and their daughter), together with journalists from a few Asian countries. The moderator requested the journalists to introduce themselves before asking their first questions.

Hi, Mr. Selleck. This is Ricky Lo from the Philippines.

Then and now: As macho as ever, reinventing himself in every role that he plays

“Oh, the Philippines. I’ve been there years ago to do a movie.”

Would you remember what movie was that?

(Laughs) “It was a terrible movie and if I tell you what the title is, you might look for it.” (Changes his mind) “Actually, it was called Daughters Of Satan. It was a B-movie and it was a big thing to me because I was a struggling actor at that time.”

Your character, Francis Reagan, is an upright police commissioner and a perfect father. Will the series reveal any of his secrets?

“Well, I don’t find him perfect. I think he’s a good dad but it’s more appropriate to say that he tries to be a good father. Blue Bloods is a character-driven drama geared towards an adult audience. I don’t want to give it away but in the second season there are going to be surprises. Frank still wears his wedding ring even if his wife has been dead for five years. Even though his kids are grown, I think it’s a worldwide phenomenon that parenting doesn’t stop when your kids turn 18 or 21. I’m glad that you say that Frank is a good father even if he does make mistakes.”

What attracted you to Blue Bloods and how different is your character from the previous ones?

“I’ve been very lucky to have been able to do shows which have remained popular to this day, such as Magnum P.I. It was a character-driven show that why it’s still around. It wasn’t really about issues as much as it’s about people and their problems. I would say that Frank Reagan is a different character. In Magnum P.I., my character has one kid while Frank Reagan has grown-up kids. The family aspect of the drama is very attractive, especially the family-dinner scenes. He’s in command of 35,000 police officers and in-charge of keeping them safe. After losing his wife five years prior in the series, Frank lost one of his sons. He ordered his son in harm’s way and he didn’t come home. Frank has got a lot of issues and you’ll find out about them as the show goes on.”

Selleck with Blue Bloods co-stars: Blue Bloods is a character-driven drama geared towards an adult audience. I don’t want to give it away but in the second season there are going to be surprises. My character, Frank Reagan, still wears his wedding ring even if his wife has been dead for five years. Blue Bloods will air on AXN on Saturday night, March 31, at 10:45.

Do you have any say in how to portray your character?

“You know, it’s funny but I do and I don’t. I have produced a lot of things but I’m not a producer on this show. Every time a script comes along, the writing staff and the producers collaborate with me. Considering my experience in the writing area, I think they respect my opinion. I think all the regular actors on our show…and we have a great, great cast, actors who are really respected…I think all of them are consulted. Their opinions matter and producers are very aware of that if they listen.”

Speaking of roles, you are so lovable in Three Men and A Baby. There’s a scene in the movie showing a baby on the window pane behind the curtain and he’s not supposed to be there. Some people say that it’s a ghost baby. Or is he a real baby?

“I’ve seen it and it’s indeed a little spooky. However, I think it’s just a cork in the movie until the story started circulating. God knows that today, the story must have gotten a new life because of the Internet; there wasn’t any Internet at that time. The story that was circulating was that a woman lost her son in the house where we shot the movie. The truth is that we shot that movie on a soundstage. That part of it certainly isn’t true, although it does look, as I’ve said, a little spooky no matter how many times you watch it. An actor in the cast had cardboard cutouts in the bedroom that has been ransacked by the bad guys.”

Oh so the baby is a cardboard cutout?

“I can’t tell you because it looks so weird in the movie. I love Three Men And A Baby and if people want to see the movie again to find the ghost baby, I don’t mind.” (Laughs some more)

In the telemovie IKE: Countdown to D-Day (nominated for an Emmy in 2004), you played General Dwight D. Eisenhower (who became the 34th President of the United States). Is there any other real-life character that you would like to portray?

With Steve Guttenberg (left) and Ted Danson (right) in Three Men and a Baby

“Hmmmm, no! It’s funny. I’m very proud of that movie. It was about the lead-up to D-Day and it came out on the 60th anniversary of D-Day, a day that I think the whole world should remember. To be honest, when they sent me the script and they told me that I was going to portray Gen. Eisenhower, I said, ‘What are they thinking?’ It’s because I never thought of playing historical characters, particularly contemporary ones. But I’m very proud of the movie and I think that I accepted the challenge and it plays very well.”

So, who’s next?

“I don’t really have a list of what characters, whether real or unreal, that I wanna do because the best attitude is for you to be open to all possibilities. The only thing that’s always on my list because I love doing it is to do another western. The thing is for you not to be so comfortable in every role offered to you, something about the character should scare you a little bit. Otherwise, you’re not really accepting a challenge. If you do that, audiences after a while feel that you’re taking them for granted and I think that you can lose people that way.”

Come to think of it, would you like any of your children or grandchildren to follow in your footsteps?

“No!”

Why not?

“I respect my craft and I really love it. It’s a very tough life. To any young person who asks me about, I always say, ‘Look, don’t do it for the money. You know, money may follow if you love it and you commit to that. If you get something out of the satisfaction of doing it, then go right ahead.’ The next thing I usually tell them is, ‘You must develop an appetite for failure because the only way you can risk being good in the acting business is to stick your neck out to risk failing. If you can’t deal with that, then you are in the wrong business.’ That’s how you learn — you have to fail before you can succeed.”

How do you encourage your children?

“I don’t think financial support is always the best thing to do with your kids. But emotional support is very important so I would certainly support their choices and remind them that as time goes on, which is something I treasure because I didn’t really become successful until I was 35, better get married and have a family, and some other thing.”

By the way, how do you deal with loss of privacy?

“Especially in this modern world, it’s a very hard thing to take even if you think that by aspiring to be famous you can deal with it. People tracking your life and photographing you anywhere you go, that can make you crazy. So, be careful what you wish for.”

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