Actor Mike Farrell famously played B. J. Hunnicutt on the beloved 11-season CBS series M*A*S*H.
While Farrell’s character is known for sporting quite the mustache, B.J. was clean-shaven until the show’s seventh season. In a 2020 interview with Studio 10, Farrell revealed that his M*A*S*H castmate, Alan Alda, who played Hawkeye Pierce, had told him to grow a mustache to better differentiate their characters.
“Alan said, ‘They think we’re too much alike. Would you mind growing a mustache?’ And I said, ‘No,’” said Farrell, now 87.
Mike Farrell Shared Some Insight Into How He Won the Role of B.J.
Farrell joined M*A*S*H during its fourth season, which premiered in 1975. During an April 2026 interview on the Still Here Hollywood podcast, Farrell shared that he was a fan of M*A*S*H before he was cast as B.J.
Farrell also said he got an audition for M*A*S*H after his agent told him that Wayne Rogers, who played Trapper, was leaving the series following its third season, meaning the show was looking to cast a new character.
Farrell recalled being invited to meet with the show’s creator, Larry Gelbart, and its executive producers, Burt Metcalfe and Gene Reynolds. According to the actor, he let Gelbart, Metcalfe, and Reynolds know that he was nervous to meet with them as he greatly admired M*A*S*H.
Farrell said after the meeting, he was called in to do a chemistry test with Alda, whom he described as being “warm and charming and sweet.”
Farrell then shared he was absolutely thrilled when he received the call that he had won the part.
“That afternoon I got a call saying, ‘You got it.’ And I screamed aloud and ran down to my car. It was at my mother’s house who lived in West Hollywood at the time. And I drove, raced up to Sunset into my agent’s office and ran in screaming and gave him a big hug,” said Farrell with a laugh.
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