# Matthew McConaughey as Magnum PI? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2008, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773 "2008-04-03T07:35:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/21 "2008-04-03T21:38:51Z")
How about Travolta as Magnum? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/22 "2008-04-04T00:22:51Z")
Politics aside, I still happen to love Tom Selleck and Tom Selleck _IS_ Magnum, P.I. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/23 "2008-04-04T01:50:22Z")
Ugh. There is a movie I will **not** be seeing I’ve also seen interviews where it was plain that he does not want to be involved with a movie version. It’s been a while, but as I recall the essence of it seemed to be that he was very proud of the television series, and didn’t want to be involved in something that might be demeaning to it, and did not want to be seen as putting a stamp of approval by appearing in some kind of cameo. I don’t recall him being angry or bitter either, just pretty sure of what he would support and what he wouldn’t. It struck me at the time, though this was just my impression, that he was not very impressed by the cameos that David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser did in the Starsky and Hutch movie. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/24 "2008-04-04T01:52:51Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] According to [this article](http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=43653), Matthew McConaughey has been offered the role of Thomas Magnum in a movie version of **Magnum PI**. I don’t like Matthew McConaughey in anything he’s done, he always comes across as a smarmy jerk, so who would you cast in the roles? I can see **Taye Diggs** as TC, and **Mark Wahlberg** as Rick. I can’t think of a good Higgins, except maybe **Ian McShane**. [/QUOTE] Higgins - Ciaran Hinds or the guy who played Cicero on Rome. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/25 "2008-04-04T02:01:37Z")
I’m not keen on the idea of a remake, but I can envision Rupert Everett as Higgins. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/26 "2008-04-04T02:44:58Z")
McConaughey would have to grow a whole lotta chest hair before he could be my Magnum PI. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/27 "2008-04-04T03:17:54Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] McConaughey would have to grow a whole lotta chest hair before he could be my Magnum PI. [/QUOTE] And I don’t think he’s got the legs. (By the way, how exactly does Tom Selleck have chest fur like a sweater but nearly bare legs? I suspect a Russian lady waxer, or a chest merkin.) I love the show in part for the way it shows so clearly how standards of masculine beauty can change _so fast_. Also, Tom Selleck makes me go all tingly. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/28 "2008-04-04T04:33:35Z")
I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right. I am skeptical about taking this particular part of my childhood and updating it to modern times. Obviously the whole Vietnam thing won’t work out, regardless of who they cast (realistically, anyway, considering the studios). Gulf War? Iraq, if they want to take an “early years” approach? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/29 "2008-04-04T13:30:24Z")
Good Housekeeping, Feb 2008, page 34, in an interview with Tom Selleck: Q. Do you have any thoughts about the proposed _Magnum, P.I._ movie starring Matthew McConaughey? A: Oh, I’d heard it was going to be George Clooney. Regardless of who they hire, assuming it’s not me, I think a lot of _Magnum_ fans will be very upset. And I’ll be glad to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/30 "2008-04-04T15:06:05Z")
[QUOTE=Leaper] I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right. I am skeptical about taking this particular part of my childhood and updating it to modern times. Obviously the whole Vietnam thing won’t work out, regardless of who they cast (realistically, anyway, considering the studios). Gulf War? Iraq, if they want to take an “early years” approach? [/QUOTE] I think they would probably do the “early years” approach, introduce Magnum as a security expert guarding Robin Masters. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/31 "2008-04-04T15:13:41Z")
[QUOTE=Flander] “I think this scene would be a great opportunity to take my shirt off.” [/QUOTE] Heh. My girlfriend and I were flipping channels one day, and came across a McConaughey movie from a few years ago. It took a little while to identify it (which for me, as a movie geek, was a source of endless humiliation): _Two for the Money._ Anyway, within a minute of landing on the movie, McConaughey had peeled off his shirt for no reason. I seem to remember the character was in his office, and had decided it would be fun to admire himself in the mirror or something. I said: “Has this guy ever done a movie where he _didn’t_ take off his shirt?” Girlfriend: “No, thank God.” So that might explain part of his enduring semi-stardom. ETA: And just for the record, McConaughey did manage to pull off, reasonably well, the slightly-crazy hard-ass military type in the otherwise dopey dragon movie _Reign of Fire._ ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/32 "2008-04-04T15:53:25Z")
It all comes down to the moustache. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/33 "2008-04-04T16:07:53Z")
[QUOTE=muldoonthief] Good Housekeeping, Feb 2008, page 34, in an interview with Tom Selleck: Q. Do you have any thoughts about the proposed _Magnum, P.I._ movie starring Matthew McConaughey? A: Oh, I’d heard it was going to be George Clooney. Regardless of who they hire, assuming it’s not me, I think a lot of _Magnum_ fans will be very upset. And I’ll be glad to hear it. [/QUOTE] Nice! At least he didn’t pull his punches. I imagine it was partly tongue in cheek, partly bitter truth! 😃 I agree with the general theme of the thread. While I think MM can nail the “devil may care” attitude, his casting misses the vulnerability of Magnum. Thomas Magnum survived Hell on Earth and decided to bumble through life to cope with the aftermath. But he was still and smart and emotionally complex person. The best episodes were the ones where Magnum showed his _depth_. MM, while I like his work, is not what I would call the Grand Canyon. When I lived in Hawaii the Summer of 1986, I saw an episode being filmed. I even have a picture of me with his Ferrari. I’ve been a fan ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/34 "2008-04-04T16:10:25Z")
If he’s driving a hybrid Ferrari, I’m walking out. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/35 "2008-04-04T17:06:08Z")
I know a lot of people dislike him but I think Ben Affleck would be a good Magnum. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/36 "2008-04-04T17:14:56Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I know a lot of people dislike him but I think Ben Affleck would be a good Magnum. [/QUOTE] Too young, too lightweight. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/37 "2008-04-04T17:16:26Z")
MM as Magnum? Nah. Athough there are worse choices (Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, I’m lookin’ at you). In his 30s, Selleck would have made a good Dirk Pitt (and he was almost Indiana Jones). I’d rather see George clooney as Thomas Banacek. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/38 "2008-04-04T17:25:01Z")
I think Vince Vaughan would be a good Magnum. he’s got the humor, the quick wit and the bonhomie, but I think he’s also got the ability show some steel, some rage, some _violence_ when he has to. I don’t know how he’d look with the moustache, though. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/39 "2008-04-04T18:42:39Z")
[QUOTE=Flander] “I think this scene would be a great opportunity to take my shirt off.” I can’t stand how he’s the same character in every movie. I guess the solution is to write a script where the character is exactly like Matt M, then just cast him. [/QUOTE] And heck, if you’re going to do that, why not just go all the way and hire Jean-Claude Van Damme to play Magnum. That way it can go straight to video and no one need be particularly embarrassed about the whole thing, plus it’ll save loads on marketing and distribution costs. Also, I think they should get Gene Hackman to play Higgins, as he always brings a certain gravatas to a role and will also take any job for spending cash. I’d say Michael Caine, but he’s already entrenched in the _Batman_ films, and we wouldn’t want this to be seen as derivative. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773/40 "2008-04-04T18:47:12Z")
He had better have a Tiger’s cap. If he changes it to some sucky Texas team he will be killed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matthew-mcconaughey-as-magnum-pi/443773.md?page=3)