RICHARD DEAN ANDERSON OPENS UP ABOUT FAME AND LIFE IN HIS 70S
Playing a crimefighting hunk on MacGyver for seven years turned Richard Dean Anderson into a household name. And though the sleuth cracked his final case more than 20 years ago, the popularity of the ’80s small-screen sensation shows no signs of waning.
“I’m still surprised at how much the show, and the character, has endured,”
Richard, now 71, tells New Idea of his iconic role.
Richard has long been in the spotlight, thanks to additional roles in General Hospital and Stargate SG-1, but the global attention never sat well with the publicity-shy actor.
“I like my privacy and I’m not a real social butterfly,” he says. “There was a time when there was screaming and odd behaviour from fans, which I was never really comfortable with.”
Though he hasn’t appeared on-screen since 2013 and has traded Angus MacGyver’s brunette mullet for a messy silver ’do, Richard is still regularly quizzed about plans to reboot one of his famous roles. But reoccurring health woes, says the star, mean his action hero days are largely behind him.
“Back wretched, both knees painfully shot … the biggest problem I have is that I also have insomnia, so that means I only sleep 20 to 40 minutes at a time.”
Instead, the “unofficially” retired actor is happy to relax and take each day as it comes.
“I don’t think about it a lot,” he says of his future employment. “My daughter keeps telling me I should write a book. So we’ll see, one of these days I might have the discipline to sit down and do it!”
In the meantime, Richard has retreated to his beachfront pad in Malibu. He says he’s very content with this “schmaltzy end” of his life, which has seen him focused on raising daughter, Wylie, now 23. He shares her with ex-partner, Apryl Prose.
“This has been one of the better parts of my life,” Richard tells us. “I’ll paint a picture of where I’m sitting right now: I’m at home, outside on my deck. The Pacific Ocean is in front of me, there’s a beautiful blue sky, my dogs are lying at my feet, panting in the sun and I’m surrounded by a couple of acres of trees. Right now, it’s hard for me to imagine the need to relax – or unwind!”
It’s certainly not a bad place to ride out a global pandemic. But when international borders do open, Richard has one destination that’s top of mind: Australia.
“I love it in Australia,” he says excitedly. “I remember on my first visit I felt like I’d come home. I felt so comfortable – especially with the people. It just felt right.
“I collect T-shirts from the places I visit and I actually still have a Bondi Beach sweatshirt from the first time I visited Australia. As you can imagine, it’s not in great shape! So I need to pick up a new one on my next visit!”
Paul Ewart, New Idea, Aug 2, 2021.
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