CBS Watch Article on Blue Bloods

CBS Watch Magazine as an article on Blue Bloods. To read the rest of the article including info on the other cast members, go here. Here is Donnie's section:

LOOSE CANNON DANNY REAGAN DONNIE WAHLBERG


ONE OF NEW YORK’S FINEST ISN’T FEELING SO FINE AT THE MOMENT. “I have a sore throat,” Donnie Wahlberg says between coughs. “I haven’t really been getting much sleep.”


That’s the price a guy pays for having not one but two full-time careers. While Wahlberg clocks long hours on the Blue Bloods set daily, he often spends nights and weekends rehearsing for a summer reunion tour with New Kids on the Block. ­­­


­­ Still, the double-threat insists he’s hangin’ tough. “I love being busy,” he says. “With acting, I’m an employee, and with New Kids, I’m sort of my own boss. To go back and forth, it’s a great balance”—one he felt confident he could maintain. That’s why, despite the inevitable lack of ZZZs, Wahlberg didn’t waffle when he was offered the part of Danny Reagan, the tightly wound detective who’ll do whatever it takes—even shove a perp’s head in a toilet—to solve a case. “There was a certain fluidity to the way he was written,” says the actor. “While he was a serious and intense character, he read to me like he was gonna be a lot of fun to play.”


But it was the pilot’s family dinner scene—which reminded Wahlberg of his own Boston-bred brood that included nine kids, including fellow actor Mark—that really sold him. “It was reminiscent of my life as a kid and the conversations we had,” says the entertainer, who himself is now the father of two sons, ages 17 and 9. “I was more the peacekeeper in my real life, trying to avoid arguments. But I know there’s always that sibling like Danny who will go a little too far.”


Wahlberg’s insight convinced producers that he had the right stuff for the gig and that, after a number of failed series, he’d finally found a perfect fit. Says executive producer Leonard Goldberg: “Remember how many pilots George Clooney did before ER? Then when he did [that show], you went, ‘Well, of course he’s a star.’ I think that’s what Blue Bloods is [for] Donnie.”


Whatever the benefits, Wahlberg believes he wouldn’t have been ready for them before. “I think it took my whole career to be in position to play this guy,” says the actor, who previously turned in critically acclaimed performances in The Sixth Sense and the short-lived TV drama Boomtown. “I think I’m a better actor now, because I have a better sense of confidence.I have a good grasp of playing the character and not letting the character play me.


“There have been a few moments in life where I look at where my career is and wouldn’t change a thing,” he continues. “This is one of those times. I’m in the sweet spot.” Being bicoastal continues to be an adjustment. “The work is very consuming so when I’m in New York, I miss my family but when I’m in L.A., I miss the show,” he admits. “And when I come back [to the set], I go, ‘Who is this guy I’m playing?’ because I’ve been away two weeks. But those things will smooth out as time goes on.”


And make no mistake: Selleck would like to be racking up frequent-flier miles for many years to come. “Frank is a role I’ll always love,” he says. “I think the character has a limitless ability to grow and change and get more interesting, so I hope I can play him for a long time.”


As Blue prepares to wrap up its remarkable first season, the rest of the ensemble is feeling similarly gratified by its success. “Hit shows don’t come along every day,” Wahlberg says. “We all know we’ve got something pretty special here.”