After 12 years on the air, it’s safe to say that “Blue Bloods” is one of the best cop shows of all time. So much sets “Blue Bloods” apart, but the show’s staying power comes from its characters. By following the Reagan family, “Blue Bloods” manages to be just as much a character drama as a police procedural.
Will Estes plays Jamie Reagan, the youngest in a family of dedicated NYPD officers. Jamie has changed a lot since the show’s early days. He starts out as a rookie on the force, but works his way up the ranks, saves lives, and even marries the woman of his dreams. Jamie has really come into himself, and Estes’ performance has kept fans invested in the character for more than a decade. Much like Jamie, Estes has been working for a long time. He started acting when he was just 10 years old, and he’s spent the majority of his life in front of one type of camera or another.
Let’s take a deep dive into Estes’ career history to see what makes the acting chops behind Jamie Reagan tick.
He considers his career a ‘happy accident’
Every actor walks their own path in the industry, and Will Estes’ journey started very early in his life. Years ago, on an episode of “Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer,” Estes explained that since he grew up in Los Angeles, there were numerous opportunities for him to get interested in acting before he was even a teenager. “I just got introduced to a children’s agency, and I auditioned for them, and I did a bunch of commercials, and they sent me on to other stuff,” he said. Commercials led to TV roles that eventually blossomed into the career that Estes has today
Even though he’s now a successful actor living in New York City and filming season after season of “Blue Bloods,” Estes maintains that his entire career is more of a happy accident than anything else. In 2021, he told Glitter Magazine that acting “was an option in my life offered up from the city itself. It chose me more than anything else.” His career might have started from being in the right place at the right time, but work ethic and genuine talent have certainly helped keep Estes on the screen for decades.
He cares about the environment
Will Estes doesn’t spend all of his time acting, but he always keeps himself busy. For years he’s been a passionate environmental activist, and he’s tried to use his platform to promote the issues that are most important to him. On Instagram, he encouraged his fans to vote for political candidates who supported climate change reform, writing, “My work as a marine conservationist and advocate has brought me face-to-face with some of our world’s most formidable challenges and I have learned the hard way we must take action every single day in any capacity we can to effect lasting change.” A quick scroll through his profile on Instagram or Twitter reveals that when he’s not promoting “Blue Bloods,” he’s advocating on behalf of the environment.
Estes’ commitment runs much deeper than social media. He told Looper in November 2021 that his almost-vegetarian diet is reflective of his larger life philosophy. “I just can’t divorce the idea of protecting our natural resources in our wild places and the health of our planet from the health of us and our wellbeing, all of us.” For Estes, making a difference is as much about big social movements as it is about small personal changes. What makes that approach even better, as he points out, is that by helping the environment, people can also help themselves.
Construction work is a hobby for him
Everyone needs a hobby. Acting and activism keep Will Estes plenty busy, but even he needs to find a way to unwind from time to time. Considering how he never seems to slow down, maybe it’s not all that surprising that his go-to hobby would be a full day’s work for most other people. “Construction’s been a little bit of a hobby of mine,” he sheepishly admitted over a decade ago on the daytime talk show “Whatever.” Far from being a small-time hobbyist, Estes actually knows quite a bit about construction, tiling, and other renovation jobs.
He really admires Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck is a legendary actor who won an Emmy for his work on “Magnum, P.I.” back in the ’80s. For over a decade, he’s played police chief Frank Reagan on “Blue Bloods,” and his character serves as an important leader for everyone else in the show. To hear Will Estes tell it, Selleck is as much a leader behind the series as his character is in front of the camera.
When the hosts of Better Connecticut asked Estes what he thinks keeps viewers coming back to “Blue Bloods” week after week, his answer was simple: “Tom Selleck.” He was joking a little bit, but Estes went on to say that Selleck is always the most knowledgeable and best prepared person on set. He’s the one who every “Blue Bloods” actor turns to when they need advice on how to present their characters
