Blue Bloods has had many outstanding guest stars during its fourteen-year run. The Tom Selleck-led drama focuses mainly on the members of the Reagan family, a multi-generational family of New York City cops; however, it wouldn’t be able to tell its stories without guest actors playing cops, victims, villains, and friends of the family. Over the years, some guest stars have become beloved secondary characters who have earned their place at Blue Bloods’ Reagan family dinner table.
Many of the best Blue Bloods episodes have big-name stars delivering emotional performances, although there have also been lesser-known actors who contributed memorable and meaningful scenes. Blue Bloods often uses actors who are primarily known for their roles on Broadway, who may not be as recognizable to television audiences. It also often features actors primarily known for comedy who get the opportunity to demonstrate their dramatic chops through their appearances on Blue Bloods.
Bebe Neuwirth as Kelly Peterson
Season 9, Episode 2
Bebe Neuwirth is best known as Lilith, Frasier Crane’s love interest on Cheers, who he had an intense love/hate relationship with and who divorced him before the start of Frasier. She has been in many roles since, both comedic and dramatic, but her appearances on Blue Bloods as Inspector General Kelly Peterson are among her most memorable. Frank butted heads with Kelly a lot, as he does with all figures whose policies interfere with the way he wants to run the NYPD. However, the two had off-the-chart chemistry, and it’s disappointing that they never attempted to date.
Instead, Kelly resigned from her position because of her feelings for Frank. However, she returned in an early season 9 episode as Corporate Counsel, giving Frank a heads-up that one of her assistants intended to sue the NYPD because they felt their sexual assault case was handled inappropriately. Her role in this episode was small, but still oozed chemistry, and it would be wonderful if Neuwirth returned again during the episodes Blue Bloods has left.
Whoopi Goldberg as City Council Speaker Regina Thomas
Season 11, Episode 1
Whoopi Goldberg is one of Blue Bloods’ most controversial guest stars. Although the actress is primarily known for her comedic movies, she is also outspoken about her liberal political views, and her character holds many of the same opinions she does. Although this irks that segment of the audience who dislikes her views, it makes for effective drama, as Frank disagrees strongly with her and refuses to let her bully him into changing his policies.
In Goldberg’s final appearance, Regina Thomas faced off with Frank over the issue of police brutality. Frank has always held the position that police officers must make split-second decisions, which sometimes leads to tragic results, while Thomas was equally convinced that racism plays a role in officer-involved shootings. Goldberg’s role was memorable because it helped demonstrate that there are no easy answers to issues like these, leaving the audience to come to their own conclusions about who was right.
Lou Diamond Phillips as Luis Delgado
Season 10, Episode 12
Lou Diamond Phillips is one of the best-known character actors to have guest-starred in Blue Bloods. He first received national attention in 1988 for his role in Stand and Deliver and has played both cops and villains in various police procedurals. In Blue Bloods, he played Louis Delgado, a mobster who was often a thorn in Danny’s side. His performance in Blue Bloods season 10, episode 12 stands out because the tables were turned, and he and Danny had to work together.
This episode was a fitting end to the Delgado saga, with Delgado going into WItness Protection and joking that he’ll take Danny’s name as his new identity.
This tense episode began with Delgado confiding in Danny that someone was threatening his sons to intimidate him out of testifying against other mobsters. When one of those sons was kidnapped, Danny lead the investigation to bring him home safely. This episode was a fitting end to the Delgado saga, with Delgado going into WItness Protection and joking that he’ll take Danny’s name as his new identity. It also demonstrated that Delgado was one of the best characters in Blue Bloods; it was sad that he was leaving even though he did nothing but cause Danny trouble.
Nick Cordero as Victor Lugo
Season 8, Episode 20
Outside of Blue Bloods, Nick Cordero was best known as a Broadway actor who had been nominated for several awards and won an Outer Critics Cirlce Award and Theatre World Award for his portrayal of Creech in Bullets Over Broadway. He appeared in Blue Bloods three times as Victor Lugo, a mobster who thought he was smarter than Danny and constantly needled him, giving him the nickname “Defective Reagan.” Sadly, Cordero died of COVID near the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, cutting short his promising career as well as his relationship with Blue Bloods.
Lugo was a popular character because of the way he teased Danny. During his final appearance in season 8, he was the only person who knew what had happened to a notorious cop killer who had escaped from prison. Thus, Danny had to temporarily release Lugo so they could work together to recapture the fugitive. Cordero’s appearance is memorable because it’s unclear whether Danny can trust him, though he eventually proves himself by saving Danny’s life from a bombing plot.
Treat Williams as Lenny Ross
Season 13, Episode 20
The late Treat Williams was a well-known actor who had gotten his start on Broadway but was most recognizable for his role in TV’s Everwood. He appeared at least once a season in Blue Bloods as Lenny Ross, a friend of Frank’s who had worked with him at the NYPD and who often got himself in trouble with silly schemes that Frank had to try to get him out of without betraying his moral compass.
Williams final appearance in Blue Bloods came only weeks before his death in a motorcycle accident. Ironically, his character had to face his own mortality, as he had elected not to pursue any further treatment for his cancer. This led to several emotional scenes as he and Frank both had to process and accept Lenny’s impending death. Blue Bloods later honored Williams with a tribute at the family dinner table after his character was said to have died of his disease.