Blue Bloods viewers have come to know the Reagan family quite well over the years. And with every passing season, it becomes even more clear that, while all the family members have close bonds and high respect for one another, Jamie admires Frank and values his knowledge and lessons most of all.
Where Danny and Erin are quick to challenge Frank’s call, Jamie always lends an ear to see what he can absorb from his pop. And, as it turns out, the actor who plays him, Will Estes, applies the same approach to real-life encounters with Tom Selleck (who plays Frank) on set.
“It’s funny, Tom isn’t that different than the commissioner,” Will revealed in an interview with Looper. “He is really so professional. He’s so studied. He knows his character inside and out. You come on set, and you know you’re working with somebody who’s very well studied and very professional and executes time and time again, every scene. You need to be on your toes when you work with him, which makes it a lot of fun.”
We think we can speak for all fans when we say it’s fun for us to watch, too. But, according to Will, it’s not just about how well-studied Tom is on set, it’s the fact that he’s equipped to address every aspect of the show, too (just like Frank is well-versed in every aspect of the NYPD and even parts of the DA’s office.).
“He does a lot in small ways to architect the scenes that he’s in,” Will shared in the interview. “Things like, we need to stay ahead of the audience. We need to make sure that we don’t tell them what we’re going to do before we do it, whenever possible. Just a ton of things like that, how certain things, certain dialogue, can be trimmed if it’s expositional or it’s not getting us where we need to go or it’s not progressing the story or the character arc. He could write, produce, and direct the show, but maintains that he just wants to perform as an actor.”
Needless to say, it seems as though Will is in just as much awe of Tom as most Blue Bloods and former Magnum P.I. viewers are.
