Donnie Wahlberg Reveals Tom Selleck Cried Watching His Final Scene on Blue Bloods
Donnie Wahlberg says his final day of filming on Blue Bloods became especially emotional when he discovered Tom Selleck had been secretly watching his final scene.
“Tom Selleck is usually not in my scenes,” Wahlberg, 55, shared on Today With Hoda and Jenna on Wednesday, Oct. 16. “There’s Danny’s world and there’s Frank Reagan’s world.”
Wahlberg has played Detective Danny Reagan since 2010, and his character typically only sees police commissioner Frank Reagan (played by Selleck) at home or for Sunday dinners. Outside of those occasions, the two characters rarely share scenes together at work, despite Frank being Danny’s father.
On the final day of filming this past summer, Selleck, 79, unexpectedly showed up on set to watch Wahlberg’s scene with Marisa Ramirez, who plays Danny’s partner Maria Baez.
“He was standing there watching. I looked across the room and he was watching,” Wahlberg recalled, noting that “Tom is a very serious, focused person. He usually hides his emotions and doesn’t want to show weakness.”
That moment changed, however, when Selleck stood in the wings watching Wahlberg’s performance. “I looked over and he had tears in his eyes,” Wahlberg said. “It still makes me emotional every time I think about it.”
Wahlberg, who is also a member of the New Kids on the Block group, said seeing Selleck — whom he watched on TV as a child — shed tears was a special experience.
“From looking up to him as a kid to working with him, and then having him there to support me on the last day, it was incredibly humbling,” Wahlberg told Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. “It wasn’t sadness, it was gratitude.”
Although Wahlberg and Selleck have finished filming their final scene for Blue Bloods, the episode has yet to air. CBS has decided to split the 14th and final season into two parts, with the first part ending in May.
Abigail Hawk, who plays Abigail Baker, also revealed to Us Weekly that she cried while reading the finale script.
“The Reagans will have a happy ending,” Hawk, 42, confirmed, adding: “There will be sadness, there will be joy, and it will all be wrapped up in a beautiful moment at the end.”
Wahlberg, meanwhile, insists he feels content with closing this chapter of his career.
“I don’t want to say sad, because there are a lot of sadder things in life. This was a great opportunity and a great experience,” he said. “I’ve built a lot of strong relationships and had a great 14 years with this cast and crew in this city. So it’s not sad – it’s emotional.”
