Why Donnie Wahlberg Has Directed Only 1 ‘Blue Bloods’ Episode so Far
Donnie Wahlberg plays Danny Reagan. However, he has gone beyond the role by directing an episode of Blue Bloods. Find out why he hasn’t done it again and more.
Donnie Wahlberg used to add references into his lines
There is some freedom for Blue Bloods actors to switch up their lines. Wahlberg talked about doing this in the first season by dropping references to New Kids On The Block.
“The first season I snuck a new Kids On The Block [song] title in every episode,” he told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “So I would tell, like Bridget [Moynahan]’s character, ‘Hey, Hang Tough’ and ‘Call It What You Want,’ ‘Step by Step.'”
He continued, “I was speaking in song titles pretty much every episode and nobody was really catching it because of the way I did it. But my music fans and the [NKOTB] fans definitely were catching it. And every week they would hashtag whatever the song title was. It would usually end up trending on Twitter. I love it.”
He directed 1 ‘Blue Bloods’ episode
The episode that Wahlberg directed is “Manhattan Queens” back in season 4. Danny and Baez (Marisa Ramirez) investigate a murder of a drag queen, and Erin (Bridget Moynahan) gets abducted.
Wahlberg talked about the experience of being in the director’s chair with Entertainment Tonight. “I think it was inevitable that I would eventually start directing,” he said. “I think, for one, I have too much energy. I find myself sort of directing scenes when I’m on set and switching lines around and moving things here and there.”
He continued, “I know the cop work better than any of the directors that come in here. They don’t really work with cops as much as I do. It just seemed like a natural evolution.”
The family dinner scenes are a favorite among fans. Wahlberg revealed what it was like to direct one.
“But it’s actually the easiest scene to direct because it kind of directs itself,” he said. “We have so much fun when we’re doing the scene and we work out the scripts as actors. I’m not really working with them as a director, I’m just one of the actors taking care of my fellow actors and making sure we feel like have a cohesive scene.”
Wahlberg doesn’t direct because of his schedule
It’s been years since Wahlberg directed that episode. That’s because he is still busy with other projects like touring with New Kids On The Block.
“A lot of times I have to pass off the directing job to somebody else, but next season I plan on directing early in the season,” he told PopCulture.com. “And I loved it, I had such a good time.”
This could mean Blue Bloods fans will get to see another episode directed by Wahlberg in the future. It has yet to be announced whether the show is getting another season.
