He’s the man all the ladies wanted, and who all the guys wanted to be.

Angus MacGyver, despite not possessing the brute strength of the TV heroes of the late 1980s, resonated with audiences due to his intelligence and quick thinking.

The series of the same name turned its lead Richard Dean Anderson into a household name virtually overnight.

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Its influence remains undeniable, with the verb “MacGyvering” – meaning “to make, form, or repair (something) with what is conveniently on hand”, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary – still being used colloquially to this day.

But after only seven years on air, the show was abruptly pulled during its peak in popularity.

So what happened to MacGyver and its star?

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MacGyver burst onto our screens in 1985, with a unique approach to the traditional guns-blazing action hero.

The titular character was known for his smarts, forgoing a gun for his trusty Swiss army knife, which helped him out of a myriad of situations.

Anderson did share, however, that the attention to detail of MacGyver’s solutions made it painstaking to film.

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In response to a fan question at a Q&A panel at Salt Lake Comic Con in 2017, Anderson recalled, “This is why it was – not a pain, it was a joy – but it was really complicated to shoot MacGyver. Because we had a new concept of a TV hero who didn’t use a gun to solve that problem.

“You saw him see the problem, see him see elements of the solution, see him collecting it, putting it together, and then you see him you know, weaving whatever toy he needs to solve that problem.”

MacGyver soon became iconic, reaching peak popularity by the 1990s, but it was abruptly pulled from air in 1992 – not due to bad ratings, but because both production and cast had decided MacGyver had gone far enough.

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After the series ended, Anderson said, “MacGyver was seven years of being in virtually every frame that was shot and having absolutely no life at all.”

Soon after he hung up his MacGyver reins, Anderson fell into yet another career-defining role – as Jack O’Neill in Stargate SG-1. 

From 1997 to 2005, Anderson made Stargate and O’Neill his own, ensuring there was an ensemble cast so he was not carrying the show on his own as he did with MacGyver, and making sure to ad-lib “a lot of lines to bring a slightly sarcastic humour to the character”.

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Over the course of the show, he was presented with an award from the Air Force for portraying them in a positive light, even being made an honorary Air Force brigadier general.

By Season 8, Anderson reduced his involvement from the star to making a few cameo appearances per season, before leaving entirely the next season so he could spend more time with his young daughter.

“Being a father, well, I don’t know if this is a change, but it makes me want to get out of here faster. Get off the clock. Just ’cause the baby is my reason for living, my reason for coming to work,” he said at the time.

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Besides a few cameo appearances here and there, Anderson has now effectively and unofficially retired from acting at age 74.

He is now focusing on his charity projects, with the environment being the focus of his passion. He is a member of Board of Advisors of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (he is pictured here at a 2017 event for the charity), and has worked with the Earth Rivers Expeditions to Produce River Project.

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