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Tom Selleck’s career has spanned over five decades. Although working steadily since the late 60s, it was in 1980 when he landed Magnum PI that his star exploded. Remember that Tom was George Lucas’ first choice for Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but Magnum got picked up as a series and the part went to Harrison Ford (I mean, thank goodness, but that is how much clout Tom had in those days). Following Magnum, Tom still worked steadily, but in smaller, less prominent roles. It turns out, that was his choice, not Hollywood’s. Tom told People that he stepped back from Hollywood when fame became suffocating.

He’s been a household name for over four decades, but Tom Selleck has never been one to seek fame and celebrity.

“I’m a fairly private person,” the actor, 75, who shot to fame with Magnum P.I. in the 1980s, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “And I’ve always treasured the balance between work and time with my family. It’s always about them.”

Indeed, when Selleck is not shooting Blue Bloods, the police drama now in its tenth season, in New York City, he’s at home with Jillie, his wife of 33 years, on their 63-acre Ventura, California, ranch.

“My relationships and my ranch keep me sane,” says Selleck, who is dad to Hannah, 31, and Kevin, 54, his son with first wife Jacqueline Ray.

The 63-acre ranch was a working avocado farm until the plants were decimated by a drought, and is home to over 1,500 native trees. “I do grunt work and I make the rounds. I like watching things grow. It’s a retreat.”

A retreat that Selleck has called home since 1988, after the actor quit Magnum P.I. at the height of his fame, in order to lead a quieter life with his family. Fame, he had quickly learned, could be stifling.

“I knew intellectually what it would mean in terms of being a public person, but until you’ve lived it, there’s no way to understand it,” says Selleck. “I had a feeling of, ‘I don’t think I’m cut out for this.’ ”

Ultimately, “I quit Magnum, not because I didn’t like it or I was tired of it,” he explains. “I was tired from it. And I wanted a three-dimensional life because I didn’t have one.”

And so Selleck opted to retreat from Hollywood on a self-imposed hiatus. One year off became several when Selleck found he “didn’t like what I was being offered.” Says the actor: “I put up with the articles that said he’s disappeared, he’s done. And you do get done, I’m well aware of that. It was a big lull, but it put a lot of things in perspective.”

[From People]

I can attest to the press coverage of his career. I remember when he took the reoccurring role as Richard on Friends, we thought oh how the mighty have fallen. But I could absolutely see stepping back being Tom’s choice. He married his wife at the height of his popularity, and she was not treated well in the media. He’s always kept his private life on lockdown. We didn’t really even know about his successful avocado ranch until it was up and thriving.

Of course, the one bit of business we did find out about was the sketchy water acquisition in which he was accused of stealing water from municipal hydrants. He ultimately paid all of it back to the city. But the details about what Tom himself knew about how the water was acquired has been thrown into question. Of course, we’ll only know what Tom knew when he wants us to know it.

Photo credit: WENN/Avalon