Hollywood is full of “what ifs,” but few have more jaw-dropping tales than Tim Matheson. With a screen career stretching from the early 1960s to his beloved role as Doc Mullins on Virgin River, Matheson has crossed paths with legends and come achingly close to iconic stardom himself. In his candid new memoir, “Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches,” Matheson finally lets fans in on the moments that nearly changed TV and movie history.
Lucille Ball’s Unforgettable Lesson: ‘Man Up!’
In a revealing conversation with Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes on their Amy & T.J. podcast, Matheson opened up about what he learned from none other than comedy queen Lucille Ball on the set of Yours, Mine and Ours (1968). At just 17 or 18, Matheson was painfully shy and sensitive, but Ball saw something special in him — and was determined to toughen him up.
“Lucy loved my sensitivity and my vulnerability,” Matheson recalls, “But basically, she was trying to teach me, like, ‘This is a tough business, kid. You better man up, and you put on your shoulder pads, because you’re going to get hit, you’re going to get knocked down. How are you going to get back up? That’s what you got to figure out.’”
It was the kind of tough love that only a true legend could deliver, and the advice clearly stuck with Matheson through the rough-and-tumble decades ahead.
The Roles That Got Away: ‘Moonlighting’ and Indiana Jones
But the hits didn’t always come on camera. Matheson admits some of his biggest career moments were the jobs he didn’t take — or couldn’t get. He turned down a chance to star in Moonlighting opposite Cybill Shepherd, the very show that made Bruce Willis a superstar, simply because he needed a break after a grueling TV schedule.
“I was exhausted after doing a television series, and I wanted two weeks off, and I couldn’t get two weeks off and do Moonlighting,” Matheson remembers. “I said, ‘Listen, I just need a break.’” Looking back, he feels no regret — “Bruce Willis was the perfect guy for that part” — and points out that passing on Moonlighting led him into the director’s chair, launching a new phase of his Hollywood journey.
Yet, perhaps the most tantalizing “almost” was Indiana Jones. Matheson tested for the role in Raiders of the Lost Ark — along with just about every actor in Hollywood at the time. In a twist worthy of the movies, George Lucas himself told Matheson that he was just too young for the role, which ultimately went to Harrison Ford. “I wanted to play that part, but I knew I was too young, but I just gave it my best shot, and so I walked away with, ‘OK, that’s it,’” Matheson says.
A Career Defined by Resilience — and a Few ‘What Ifs’
From facing down Lucy’s tough advice to walking away from stardom and learning to reinvent himself, Tim Matheson’s story is a Hollywood rollercoaster — full of heartbreak, hard lessons, and unexpected triumphs. Now, as Doc Mullins on Virgin River, he brings every ounce of that wisdom and depth to the screen.
Would Matheson’s life — or Hollywood itself — look totally different if he’d worn the fedora or traded quips with Cybill Shepherd? We’ll never know. But one thing is clear: few actors can say they were this close to making TV and film history, not once, but twice.
What would you have done in his shoes? And which “almost” would you choose — Indiana Jones or Moonlighting?
Let us know your thoughts below!
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