Though James MacArthur will forever be known as Danny Williams, the young actor wasn’t the original choice to play the Hawaii Five-O character. Originally, actor Tim Kelly, known for films like Peter Bogdanovich’s Targets (1968), was tapped to play the character. Kelly even appeared in the original pilot for the series. However, he was later recast, with MacArthur taking on the role after he was approached by series creator Leonard Freeman. “He [Freeman] wanted to know if I would be interested in the part," said MacArthur during an interview with The Chicago Tribune. "I read a script and said, ‘Heck yes.’” Despite his enthusiasm, MacArthur was never sure why Kelly was replaced. “I don’t know what happened, but they wanted to replace him,” said MacArthur.

The young actor’s excitement for the project was nothing compared to Freeman’s. At the helm of the series, the writer had absolute faith in his project from the very beginning. Hawaii Five-O was more than just a crime-of-the-week, run-of-the-mill police series; it confronted important, sometimes philosophical questions that made an audience think. Combined with good writing and a stellar cast, the show was an instant victory.

“He [Freeman] told us, ‘We can be a big hit,’” said MacArthur. "'This is a morality play. It’s good vs. evil, and the good guys are going to win.’ That was during the Vietnam era, and I think many people were looking for something like that.”

Watch Hawaii Five-O on MeTV!

Weekdays at 11 AM

*available in most MeTV markets

“The stories were good, the music was excellent, and you had these decent characters. The location helped too. Back then, Hawaii was still an exotic place to many people. So many of them [the viewers] had never been there.”