When CBS cast Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan in BLUE BLOODS, he could hardly believe he would play the son of Tom Selleck’s character.
“I got hired on the show and [Selleck] was really excited, cause he was a fan of BAND OF BROTHERS, so he was like ‘Oh yeah, this guy’s good,’” Wahlberg said on the “Brotherly Love” podcast. “But I walked in the room and he’s like 6’4”, I’m like 5’11” I think.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Wahlberg’s and Selleck’s relationship:
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Donnie Wahlberg says he and BLUE BLOODS co-star Tom Selleck have a real father-son dynamic.
“Tom Selleck, I call him Dad,” he 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.”
Wahlberg said that now Selleck calls him “son,” adding, “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.”
In addition to the significant height difference, the actor thought he bore no resemblance to Selleck.
“So I walk in, and I’m like ‘He’s got so much hair, his eyebrows are so bushy,’” he said. “I didn’t even care about the mustache, I was like, ‘How am I this dude’s son?’ I was like, ‘They’re gonna fire me tomorrow.’”
He relaxed after he saw who would play his grandfather on the show.
“And then I met the grandfather, who’s played by Len Cariou, and he’s shorter than me, same hairline,” Wahlberg said. I was like, ‘Alright, I got his genes. I’m good.’”
The singer was also surprised when the show took off after the pilot released. He was on a New Kids on the Block Reunion cruise when he got the news that the show got picked up.
“It was called REAGAN’S LAW originally, the pilot, and [my agents] were like, ‘It’s not getting picked up,’ and I was like, all right, well I’ll go have a great cruise with the with my fans and the New Kids; we’ll have a great time, it’s all good,” he said.
“And then somewhere in the middle of the ocean on Saturday or Sunday, my agent is like, ‘You have to get go to your cabin…your agent’s trying to call you,’” he said. “She said ‘Can you be in New York tomorrow? You’re on a show called BLUE BLOODS and it’s been picked up.’ I was like, ‘When this boat comes into port, I’m getting on the first plane. I’ll be there.’”
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On January 29, Wahlberg and other cast members celebrated Selleck’s 79th birthday.
Displaying their father-son relationship, Wahlberg said, “Happy Birthday to my dear friend and TV dad – the one and the only – Tom Selleck! Love you, dad! 🎂🎉🎈💙❤️”
In November, news outlets reported that BLUE BLOODS will end with season 14. The last episodes will air Fall 2024.
Wahlberg told US Weekly that he hopes the cancellation will be reversed.
“CBS will find an awful lot of people aren’t ready to say goodbye to it. The show’s more popular than ever, and I think [numbers] will increase with the interest this year,” he said. “We’re certainly not out of ideas.”
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