We are, of course, talking about moustaches. Specifically, iconic moustache-wearers. And have been for a good five minutes. If you spend any meaningful time in the company of Tom Selleck, then eventually, inevitably, you will bristle against the subject.
He's joked that he and his moustache are actually separate stars - that he's not a diva, but the 'tache can be; that he'd never run for office, but he can't speak for the ambitions of his upper-lip furniture - yet we know this isn't true. Because if you think of moustaches, you think of Tom Selleck.
He's acted without it many times, but the major roles associated with his name, from Magnum P.I. to Three Men and a Baby, Quigley Down Under to the suave Dr Richard in Friends, have one striking, hirsute thing in common.
"Yeah, I know," he concedes. "It just got to the point where I'd go on a talk show and they'd say, 'Now Tom, we have a surprise - act shocked but at a certain point, everybody in the audience is going to put on a moustache!' And I'd have to say, 'Look, I know you thought you had a good idea, but I've done that five times..." In 2010, when he took on the part he's still playing, that of grizzled NYC police commissioner Frank Reagan in the CBS drama Blue Bloods, he planned on doing it clean-shaven.
"Leonard Goldberg, the creator, later told me that he freaked out inside. He was like, 'Oh, that's interesting, let me check with the network... Then, "Tom, the network is insisting. So it's a thing?"
Still, he's not entirely sure how he came to be The Moustache Guy. "Look, I was born without it.
It's not as important to me as it seems to be to people. And every month or so, it's completely new. The hairs have grown out, they've been trimmed. So I don't know, it's something I live with. I don't resent it, but there's more to the work than a moustache..."
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 13 June 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 13 June 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
The unusual relationship between an heiress and her husband has taken a sinister twist
HOW TO MAKE A SUPERBABY
Noor Siddiqui says her company can test embryos for hundreds of conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Critics call it social engineering but she insists she's just giving prospective parents the means to avoid a lot of future heartache
THE GROWN-UP BRAIN
If you think your brain deteriorates as you age, think again!
THE eyes HAVE IT
They're the windows to our soul - and the first place to show the stresses of everyday life. Juliette Winter reveals expert tips to de-puff, brighten and smooth this delicate area
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
It hasn't been an easy road but now this bodybuilding couple are making waves in the industry
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!
Annetjie's about to get effective treatment for the skin condition that has blighted her life and she's looking forward to hitting the shops and facing the world
'SHE NO THREAT TO ANYONE'
When SA boxer Chris van Heerden's Russian girlfriend went to visit her parents she was thrown in jail and accused of treasonnow he's in a fight to free her
SUNK IN 16 MINUTES!
A sun-drenched holiday turned into a living nightmare for those aboard this luxury vessel
READY TO SMILE AGAIN
A groundbreaking surgical procedure will restore this Limpopo teen's badly damaged jaw and teeth
HARRY AT A CROSSROADS
As the prince turns 40, royal experts paint a picture of a troubled soul- isolated, homesick and struggling to find a purpose in life