Abigail Hawk is instantly recognizable as Blue Bloods Detective Abigail Baker, the right-hand woman to Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck). But as the actress says goodbye to the television show she’s worked on for nearly a decade and a half after its season 14 ending, Hawk gears up for new projects, like her upcoming indie film Daruma, which is set to release on November 15.
Daruma follows a bitter man, Patrick, who discovers he has a four-year-old daughter, but decides he isn’t equipped to take care of her, so he asks grouchy neighbor Robert to help them go cross-country for his daughter to live with her maternal grandparents.
Starring two leads — Tobias Forrest and John W. Lawson — authentically cast as disabled in a story not focused on that, Daruma is breaking the mold as one of the only films to do so. Hawk will portray Anna, the love interest of Forrest’s Patrick, a character very dissimilar from her Blue Bloods persona.
If you only recognize Hawk as the stoic and put-together detective often seen going in and out of the police commissioner’s office, you might not know much about the star herself. As she prepares to embark on a new phase of her career, Hawk is figuring out what kinds of projects she wants to throw herself into, while also experimenting in new areas such as producing and writing.
Woman’s World had a chance to catch up with Hawk and discuss Daruma and the reason behind her decision to join the project, as well as what it’s been like to close the Blue Bloods chapter of her story. The actress shared about the film’s deeper meaning, what it was like stepping into the shoes of a very different character and what interesting item she chose to take home from the set of Blue Bloods.
WW: How does it feel that Blue Bloods is coming to an end after 14 years?
AH: If you’d asked me this two weeks ago, I would’ve answered a little bit differently. I had a nice hit of my people. I got to see all of them and hug people and tell them in person how much they meant to me. We had a big wrap party and we also had an event at the Paley Center in Manhattan, and then a couple of us from the cast got the amazing honor of lighting the Empire State Building blue — I’m still pinching myself that I got to participate in that. It was one of the coolest experiences of my entire life.
Getting to see them all again in the moment was such a wonderful adrenaline rush and brought me unspeakable joy. And then Sunday hit and I came down so hard, because the reality set in that this was the last time this group of people would all be together in a room in this capacity, and it’s a great group of people.
I have talked about how amazing the cast is and how they are some of my nearest and dearest friends, because, of course, it’s 14 years of knowing the ins and outs of each other’s lives very intimately. But what I don’t talk about enough is how incredible our crew is. These are people that have been here the whole time and have grown with us behind the cameras, and they are the beating hearts of the show… bittersweet is a cliche word, but it’s an apt word, and I’m just grateful that it happened.
What an incredible experience for all of us. I feel mostly good. It happened. It’s the biggest blessing of my life and I’m excited to see where it leads me next.
WW: What was it like saying goodbye to your character, Baker?
AH: Saying goodbye to her is difficult, because she’s the woman that I want to be. She’s confident, she’s smart, she’s observant, she’s capable, she’s a problem solver, and she can come at any situation calmly and with grace… And that’s what I will miss, is just that confidence.
And I think if anything, she definitely taught me to relax and to stop circling the drain with my imposter syndrome that I deserve to be here. I do bear responsibility for being here for 14 years. I always thank Tom [Selleck] because he kept bringing me back and bringing me around, but I also contributed. The reason that he kept bringing me around was because I had something valuable to offer. So I have learned that from her, and I’m trying desperately to channel that as I enter this next unknown phase of my life, that it’s okay to not know what the next step is…I am trying to take her with me and have her be a back-pocket Baker.
I just always thought it was so neat that she was such a young leader, and I think she will continue to live on and help young women know that they can also be leaders. I think the reruns will still be going, you’ll still see it streaming on a random airplane going to Ireland. So I think I will continue having these young girls reach out to me and say, “Hey, because of Detective Baker, I also took the exam.”
Also, I got to take the [One Police Plaza Headquarters] office door. It’s in my basement. Everybody was, like, “What do you want from the set?” And I said the door and they’re , like, “The one PP door?” And I was, like, “Yeah, that’s what I want… My fingerprints are on that door” … I have other things, too, but that’s clearly the coolest thing.
