MacGyver: What You Didn’t Know About The Classic Show

MacGyver Was Inspired by McDonald’s (Really)

When Lee David Zlotoff was creating the character of MacGyver, he wanted the leading man to have a masculine-sounding name. Originally, Zlotoff intended for MacGyver’s character to simply be called “Guy,” but his friends were quick to veto that idea because the didn’t think it was compelling enough. Instead, Zlotoff looked elsewhere for inspiration.

McDonald’s was prompting people to add “Mc” in front of words, so he suggested that the leading character be called “MacGuy.” The cast and crew decided he needed to have a three-syllabus name, and MacGyver was born.