With the final episodes of Blue Bloods already in the can, Tom Selleck appears to be in vacation mode.
The handsome 79-year-old was caught in a candid photo looking scruffier than his normal manicured appearance while running an errand in Thousand Oaks, Calif., near his ranch home.
True, he sported his famous mustache, but he appeared to have stopped shaving during his work hiatus as he also had a full beard and tousled hair, making him almost unrecognizable.
His wardrobe of black shorts, a T-shirt and athletic shoes made it clear that this was a casual day for the Emmy-winning actor. It was definitely not business attire.
Selleck hasn’t always worn his now signature moustache. His first series role on TV was on The Young and the Restless and he was clean shaven for that. He did sport the moustache for his iconic role as Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I. and also for his role as Commissioner Frank Reagan on Blue Bloods, but he recently told People that he initially thought he would play that role sans moustache.
“At the time, they had him as the New York City police chief,” Tom told People of the role. “That’s not the boss in New York, the way it’s structured. And I said, ‘Well, I don’t think they can have mustaches, so I’ll shave off my mustache,’ and [executive producer] Leonard [Goldberg] said, ‘Let me check with CBS.’ And they said no.”
Blue Bloods will return to CBS for its final eight episodes on Friday, Oct. 18.
Selleck was unhappy with CBS’ decision to cancel the police/family drama, telling Parade, “I love the show, I haven’t started any kind of countdown because I would prefer to just stay optimistic. I’ve been through this before once with Magnum. Leaving a show in success is the legacy that we need to establish for Blue Bloods because we’re still wildly successful. And people need to get that word out if it does end. Not, we were winding down and it was time to leave. That’s not the case here.”
Despite Selleck’s optimism, CBS did cancel the series, which means that Selleck, who has no plans to retire, can move on to other projects.
“There is room for a Jesse Stone because I’ve written them, as you know,” he told Parade. “I love Jesse. And he’d be different. He’s older. It’s been a while since the last one. That’s a fun thing to deal with. Either way, I want to work. But we’re in the middle of Blue Bloods; I’m shooting right now.
Blue Bloods will return for the second half of its 14th season on Oct. 18 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
