Who Knew Tom Selleck Was Almost Indiana Jones? Check Out His Screen Test

In fact, he was barely known at all, having only had a handful of small roles in TV shows. And yet, he could have ended up playing Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

While searching for their leading man, the films' creators, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas handed an audition to this up-and-coming actor in whom they saw plenty of promise. In a later interview, Lucas said Selleck (and Sean Young who featured in the screen test with him) were "terrific actors" and that "it went really well".

Watching the screen test now, it's difficult to get away from the fact that Selleck looks like he's at a fancy dress party. The costume is so iconic and Harrison Ford stamped his style all over the role in a way that defined the character for generations of movie fans.

But Selleck actually got the role!

Had he accepted it, the whole Indiana Jones franchise might have looked very different. While Ford brought a gritty ruggedness to the role, Selleck may have portrayed the action-hero archaeologist in the more debonair style that has flowed through much of his career.

And it wasn't that Selleck didn't want to play Indiana Jones. But when he received the call to say he'd got the part, he told the producers he'd done a pilot for the new promising series and needed to confirm there would be no conflict of interests.

So, he spoke to CBS, the network that had shot the said pilot. Despite the fact that there was no crossover in filming schedules between the movie and the series – which by now had been given the green light – CBS denied Selleck the chance to do both.

Left with a tough call, Selleck decided to go ahead with the TV show and turned down the lead role in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Was it a mistake? Well, Harrison Ford doesn't think so. He ultimately got the part and made a huge success of it. As for Tom Selleck, after turning his back on what could have been a breakthrough role in a movie that was bound to make it big simply because it had Spielberg and Lucas on board, he got on with filming the show that would really launch his acting career.

Because the pilot he opted for over the role of Indiana Jones was, in fact, Magnum P.I.