Steven Spielberg Reveals His First Choice for Indiana Jones Was Tom Selleck, Not Harrison Ford

The iconic Indiana Jones franchise would have looked very different if director Steven Spielberg got his way when it came to casting the iconic character.

Speaking on the May 27 episode of the IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson podcast, the Oscar-winning director, 79, discussed the casting process for the 1981 movie, revealing that he and the Raiders of the Lost Arc writer, George Lucas, wanted a very different actor to star in the movie.

“We both discovered and decided that Tom Selleck should play Indiana Jones,” Spielberg said. “He came in, and he read for the part.”

When the podcast hosts expressed their shock over the very idea of Selleck as the fedora-wearing explorer, Spielberg assured them his audition was perfect.

“Oh, he was good,” he said. “His test was good! I loved it.”

He revealed that Selleck was offered the part, but Hollywood legalities got in the way.

“That’s where the strings of destiny didn’t cross with Tom,” he explained. “We gave Tom the part, but then he had, we didn’t realize, an outstanding contract with CBS to do Magnum P.I.”

According to Spielberg, once CBS realized Selleck had another project lined up, they immediately prioritized production on Magnum P.I., in which Selleck starred as the titular Thomas Magnum from 1980 to 1988.

As for how the part of Indiana Jones ultimately went to Harrison Ford, Spielberg explained that he was invited by Lucas to a private screening of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

“I pulled George aside, and I said, ‘George, what about that guy who plays Han Solo to play Indiana Jones?’” he recalled. “And George looked at me funny and said, ‘Well, but he’s Han Solo.’”

The E.T. director continued, “I said, ‘I know, but, you know, John Wayne might have been in the same Western forever, but he played different characters.’ I said, ‘You know, he could do more than one role.”

Lucas eventually agreed and the rest is film history.