Tom Selleck is reflecting on his decades in the entertainment industry in his upcoming memoir, “You Never Know.”
“[The book] is a lot about failing, endless failures,” he shared in a recent interview with PEOPLE. “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.”
Despite his years of movie and TV-making, Selleck shared that he initially had some doubts about how interesting a book about his life would be.
“I don’t have the hooks that a lot of people do,” he explained. “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.”
Selleck also shared that his acting career was “accidental,” adding, “I’d never taken an acting class. I had no training, no desire.”
He started acting with some gigs in commercials and a spot on the reality show, THE DATING GAME. Small parts in THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and THE ROCKFORD FILES led to his breakout role in MAGNUM P.I.—and the rest is Hollywood history.
“I’ve had a very good life, a very lucky life. I don’t know if it’s what I figured I’d be doing, but it’s with a lot of gratitude,” Selleck concluded.
The actor has been working on “You Never Know” for years. In a 2021 interview with Parade, Selleck promised the book would be “very personal.”
“I can tell you what it won’t be: It’s not going to be a score-settling thing,” he added. “It’s not going to be a who-I-dated thing. There’s a certain level of privacy, but I’m being extremely intimate on the personal effect everything has had on me.”
He continued, “I really want to share my 50 years of show business, or how many years the book deals with, what it was like to start in a business that I never anticipated being in. I never wanted to be an actor, I never did a play, I never did anything. I got lucky and got exposed to it under contract with 20th Century Fox. So that road—and I’m quite a ways in—that road is not what the audience thinks it is.”
A description of “You Never Know” calls the memoir “frank, funny and open-hearted,” adding, “Beneath all the charm and talent and self-deprecating humor, Selleck’s humor reveals an American icon who has reached remarkable heights by always insisting on being himself.”
“You Never Know” will be released May 7.
Movieguide® previously reported on Selleck’s memoir:
BLUE BLOODS star Tom Selleck is opening up about his life through his upcoming memoir “You Never Know,” which is set to release next May.
“From the USC basketball court, to a happy accident, to discovering and then embracing the work I love. It’s been a long bumpy road with some singles, some home runs, and a whole lot of strikeouts,” Selleck said. “I figure it’s time to share the ride.”
“In his own voice and uniquely unpretentious style, the famed actor brings readers on his uncharted but serendipitous journey to the top in Hollywood, his temptations and distractions, his misfires and mistakes and, over time, his well-earned success,” reads a description of the memoir. “Along the way, he clears up an armload of misconceptions and shares dozens of never-told stories from all corners of his personal and professional life.”
