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How the 'Blue Bloods' cast pretended they were eating at the Reagan family dinner

How the 'Blue Bloods' cast pretended they were eating at the Reagan family dinner

Talk about a gag! The cast of Blue Blood revealed how they navigated family dinners over the past 14 seasons.

Tom Selleck finally let the cat out of the bag and revealed that all of his co-stars have tricks for making it look like they're eating. He also admitted that some of his actors are better at faking than others.

“The truth can be told because the eight episodes (of the final season) are done,” Selleck, who played patriarch Frank Reagan for over a decade, said during an Entertainment Weekly PaleyFest panel on Thursday ahead of the show’s final season .

“Blue Bloods” cast at their Reagan family dinner. CBS
Donnie Wahlberg said he ate the food – but what he put in his mouth depended on his upcoming plans. CBS

He then revealed Bridget Moynahan (aka Erin Reagan) and her secrets before bringing the rest of his castmates – Donnie Wahlberg (Danny Reagan) and Vanessa Ray (Eddie Janko), who were also at the event – into high gear.

“We all have tricks. Bridget is a food masher. She’s very active in holding her hand and combining her potatoes and everything,” Selleck shared at the event. “I butter rolls. I know everyone else has a few tricks they could confess to before it’s too late.”

When Ray started filming, she revealed that she didn't know everyone else was pretending, adding that she quickly learned to join Moynahan's mashed potato club.

(LR) Marisa Ramirez, Vanessa Ray, Bridget Moynahan, Tom Selleck, Len Cariou and Donnie Wahlberg attend “Blue Bloods” during PaleyFest 2024. Getty Images
Vanessa Ray. Getty Images
(From left) Vanessa Ray as Eddie Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, Len Cariou as Henry Reagan. CBS

“The first few times I sat at the dining table I ate the rolls. I didn’t just put butter on the rolls,” she said. “And I think at one point Bridget said, 'Are you sure you want to do this?' I ask myself: 'Why? What?' (And she said,) “Well, it's your funeral, girl.” And I kept eating and I realized, 'Oh, you can't eat 17 rolls.'”

On the other hand, Wahlberg claimed he ate every time but was picky about his food choices when he had an upcoming New Kids on the Block appearance.

“There's a silly part of the food and a real part of the food, and the silly part is that when I went on tour the following summer, I only ate vegetables,” he confessed. “If not, I ate everything. And I got high a few times from the whipped cream in the desserts. I experienced this sugar rush. But the truth is that I wanted to eat as the character because I thought it would be best to talk with my mouth full in the first dinner scene.”

(From left) Marisa Ramirez as Maria Baez and Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan. CBS
Donnie Wahlberg visits “Blue Bloods” during PaleyFest 2024. Getty Images

Wahlberg also said that his tactics helped sell his character.

“That’s like throwing an insult across the table without even looking up, taking a bite of my food and moving on,” he laughed. “I just thought it would be an opportunity to be a bull in a china shop in a place where I can't really do it. You can only go so far at the table because if Dad doesn't crack his head, Grandpa will. That was exactly my thing.”

Selleck shared how the Reagan family dining room table differs from his real home.

Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and Frank (Tom Selleck). CBS via Getty Images

“At the Selleck family dinner table – when it was just my two brothers and my parents and we always had breakfast – people didn't talk with their mouths full,” said the actor. “So I can’t really do that at family dinner. So I said, ‘You better not eat, or you might not swallow it when your next line comes.’ Very complicated.”

The PaleyFest appearance was refreshing, considering that Selleck has been in a state of unhappiness since CBS announced that the series would be canceled in November and that season 14 would be its last.

The 79-year-old actor admitted he was “frustrated” with the decision after the show's successful run. Selleck also claimed he might not be able to keep his ranch in California without the steady income.

Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan. CBS

“That is always a problem. If I stopped working, yes. Am I ready for life? Yes, but maybe not on a 150-acre ranch!” said the former “Magnum PI” star.

It's an emotional farewell for the entire cast.

Wahlberg recently revealed that he and Selleck cried like babies while filming the final season.

Tom Selleck has expressed his frustration over the cancellation of Blue Bloods. Getty Images

“The last day I shot all my breakout room scenes and it's a little bit like I'm holding court as Danny Reagan and Tom Selleck came in to watch,” he said on SiriusXM's “Andy Cohen Live.”

“And I film the scenes. I'm already emotional. I look across the room and see him. “He’s really tall and he’s standing over everyone in the back corner watching with tears in his eyes,” Wahlberg explained. “It was like the waterworks were turned on. I could literally cry just thinking about it.”

As Blue Bloods prepares to air its final episodes, CBS Studios President David Stapf has already hinted at a possible spin-off.

“There are endless possibilities, what a Blue blood “A spinoff would look like that,” Stapf said after the announcement. “We have a whole season (of Blue blood) to go… so we still have time to think about a spin-off.”

The final eight episodes of Blue Bloods' final season air starting tonight (October 18) at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

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