# Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333 "2012-07-15T19:37:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **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:** [July 17, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/21 "2012-07-17T15:02:54Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Matt Damon? C’mon. He has all the charisma of a sock puppet. Honestly, I think pretty much the same thing about Harrison Ford. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Now Kurt Russell would have made a great Indy. Imagine \*Raiders \*meets \*Big Trouble In Little China. \* There’s a movie for you. I agree with this. He would be a better choice than either, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![tellthetruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@tellthetruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellthetruth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/22 "2012-07-17T15:36:50Z")
MagDumb PI…Selleck sucks…I’d rather eat NABISCO cookies instead of the WalMart brand if you get my drift. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/23 "2012-07-17T16:32:14Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T7vW1oEKP1k/hqdefault.jpg ""...Ivan, Did you see the Sunrise?" Magnum P.I") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7vW1oEKP1k) Yes. Although in the mid nineties, I would have loved to cast Selleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman in an adaptation of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns. But yeah, Indiana Jones still would have been great with him in place. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/24 "2012-07-17T16:42:20Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Now Kurt Russell would have made a great Indy. Imagine \*Raiders \*meets \*Big Trouble In Little China. \* There’s a movie for you. I love Kurt, but his tough guy style is juuuust a bit over the top. It would have made the character too funny. I like Ford’s ability to look like he’s getting the shit kicked out of him but he’s not quite got the mental capacity to realize he’s losing, or that his brain forgets to lose consciousness or something and he’s forced to stay in a fight. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/25 "2012-07-17T16:47:54Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Matt Damon? C’mon. He has all the charisma of a sock puppet. > > Now Kurt Russell would have made a great Indy. Imagine \*Raiders \*meets \*Big Trouble In Little China. \* There’s a movie for you. No, no. Christopher Walken as Indy! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/26 "2012-07-17T16:49:46Z")
> [@tellthetruth](#): > > MagDumb PI…Selleck sucks…I’d rather eat NABISCO cookies instead of the WalMart brand if you get my drift. I think your drift drifted away in a cloud of confusion. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/27 "2012-07-17T16:52:02Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Somehow this got me thinking about who would be the _worst_ actor for Indie – the name that came instantly to mind is Bobcat Goldwait. I immediately thought of Don Knotts and Pauly Shore ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/28 "2012-07-17T16:53:16Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I immediately thought of Don Knotts and Pauly Shore Betty White would also be a stretch as Indy. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/29 "2012-07-17T17:10:20Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I immediately thought of Don Knotts Whines: “Why’d it have to be snakes?” ---
**Author:** ![tellthetruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@tellthetruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellthetruth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/30 "2012-07-17T17:22:07Z")
My drift is quality of acting…Selleck doesn’t quite make the “A List” of actors…like the line from the Frank Zappa song…“Is that a real poncho, or is that a Sears poncho”? ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/31 "2012-07-18T00:03:58Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > I think your drift drifted away in a cloud of confusion. 😕 I think he is saying that he would not kick Selleck out of his poncho for eating NABISCO cookies. I think… ---
**Author:** ![tellthetruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@tellthetruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellthetruth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/32 "2012-07-19T15:10:05Z")
No dog…I’m just saying that Selleck is a bad actor…but I don’t need to. He’s been in the business for over 30 years; how many major motion pictures has he been in and how many Oscar nominations? Case closed. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/33 "2012-07-19T15:51:05Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I immediately thought of Don Knotts and Pauly Shore Scene: Exterior. Crowded Marketplace. The crowd parts, and we see a large, menacing SWORDSMAN. He chuckles evilly as he tosses the sword from hand to hand. INDY starts desperately digging in his left breast pocket, pulls out a bullet, and loads his revolver. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/34 "2012-07-19T16:03:37Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Scene: Exterior. Crowded Marketplace. > > The crowd parts, and we see a large, menacing SWORDSMAN. He chuckles evilly as he tosses the sword from hand to hand. > > INDY starts desperately digging in his left breast pocket, pulls out a bullet, and loads his revolver. His hand’s too shaky. He drops the bullet, and the cylinder falls out of the pistol too. But then he turns into a talking fish… ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/35 "2012-07-19T23:50:28Z")
> [@tellthetruth](#): > > He’s been in the business for over 30 years; how many major motion pictures has he been in and how many Oscar nominations? Case closed. You wouldn’t win many court cases. 30 years in the business is an incredible and rare achievement, and worth more than an Oscar. He’s had a very successful television career, and has both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. [QUOTE=Wikipedia] 36th Primetime Emmy Awards (1984) – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series 42nd Golden Globe Awards (1985) – Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series-Drama [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/36 "2012-07-20T00:39:31Z")
AND passing on Raiders was a major turning point in his career as far as movies vs TV. If he had been Indiana Jones, there’s really no reason to suspect that, like Ford, he would have had a good career on the silver screen. ---
**Author:** ![tellthetruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@tellthetruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellthetruth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333/37 "2012-07-20T01:05:59Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > You wouldn’t win many court cases. 30 years in the business is an incredible and rare achievement, and worth more than an Oscar. He’s had a very successful television career, and has both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Your point is well taken, however, Dick van Dyke, Soupy Sales, Lucille Ball and others have had long successfull careers and although entertaining, I (personally) would not consider them to be good actors in the ranks of Nicholson, Hanks, Pachino, Freeman, Denzel etc. Again…just my opinion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-selleck-as-indiana-jones/628333.md?page=1)