BLUE BLOODS Stars Reveal What Goes Into Iconic Sunday Dinner Scenes
By Movieguide® Contributor
Police drama BLUE BLOODS may be coming to an end, but the cast members have some very fond memories to look back on, specifically the show’s iconic Sunday dinners.
For all 14 seasons, the show’s dinners served as a time when the Reagan family could come together and discuss the inner workings of their dangerous careers.
Actors Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg recently reflected on these memorable scenes.
“At the first dinner scene, I had to be fully committed to this character and who he was and his thoughts on the situation he was dealing with — and be willing to turn that dinner table upside down,” Wahlberg said. “And to do that with Tom Selleck sitting at the head of the table? He’s an icon.”
Walhberg said that he wanted to portray his character Danny Reagan correctly for that first dinner.
“Well, that’s not how I saw the character,” he explained. “I had to make the commitment to go there with him. I could not hold anything back, because if I didn’t do it in the pilot episode, I wouldn’t be able to do it down the road.”
Selleck revealed that the dinner scenes were surprisingly difficult to film.
“Dinner scenes are hard because your focus is not what you’re eating,” he said. “It’s really not even your lines, it’s your subtext. Audiences don’t care about the words, they want to see the subtext. The family dinners are loaded with subtext, and the audience is in on it because they’ve seen what the characters are going through.”
Wahlberg added that although they were acting, the feelings in the scenes were genuine.
“There’s a genuine affection when we get together for dinner scenes,” he revealed. “There’s a genuine gratitude at that table. If anyone’s struggling, by the end of that dinner scene they’re back to being aware of how fortunate we all are.”
The BLUE BLOODS cast and crew have created a family through the many years working on the show.
“I think it’s more saying goodbye to the people behind the character,” said Bridget Moynahan, who plays Erin Reagan. “We’ve created such a family on set with each other and the crew — most of the crew’s been with us for 14 years, so we’ve been through a lot of weddings, births, deaths, and everything. We’ve been through it all with each other.”
Selleck and Wahlberg have developed a true father-son relationship.
“Tom Selleck, I call him Dad,” Wahlberg told Fox News. “At first he was kind of a little thrown by it for the first season or two, he’d be like, ‘Oh, hey, Donnie.’ Now it’s like, we’ve gotten so close.”
“He’s literally like, ‘Oh, hey, son, how are you doing today?’ It’s like we’ve just become a real family, and it’s going to be a lot to not be with [them] anymore, but I’m sure we’ll stay connected after the cameras aren’t rolling,” he added.
Movieguide® previously reported on the show’s cancelation:
BLUE BLOODS’ cancellation was announced last November.
“BLUE BLOODS will forever be a beloved part of CBS’s legacy,” said Amy Reisenbach, the president of CBS Entertainment, and David Stapf, president of CBS Studios, in a joint statement. “It ruled Friday nights with unprecedented dominance since its premiere and established itself as a pillar of our winning lineup with an exceptionally devoted fan base.”
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