Tom Selleck has enjoyed a decades-long career in Hollywood that has seen him achieve great success. However, that does not mean that the 79 year-old doesn’t still feel “intimidated” when taking on new challenging roles.

In a newly-resurfaced interview, Selleck admits that he felt “intimidated” when he was cast as the fictional NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan on the CBS police drama Blue Bloods. The show has been on since 2010, and the final episodes are currently airing on CBS on Friday nights.

Selleck ‘Felt A Little Intimidated’ By Blue Bloods Role

“This is the first time I’ve played dad to grown-ups,” Selleck told Collider during the show’s first season back in September of 2010. “I felt a little intimidated. I had such a good dad. Maybe I’m drawing from that, but I’m still getting used to that.”

“I see my fellow actors, and I’m way older than some of them,” he continued. “I don’t feel that much older, so I’m just getting used to the idea of playing a parent to grown-up kids. It’s a real interesting challenge for me. I’ve played a father to teenagers, kids and babies, so it’s a new thing for me, and I like that challenge.”

Selleck went on to say that his “biggest hurdle” about doing Blue Bloods was accepting the “idea of the show.”

“The first question out of my mouth was, ‘Where are you shooting it?,’ and then we tried to discuss how that would work,” the former Magnum P.I. star explained. “It never works the way you plan it, but that wasn’t the attraction of it. It’s really hard to argue that this isn’t a better show, shot on the streets of New York. That excited me.”

Related: Tom Selleck Sends Surprising Message To CBS After Network Cancels ‘Blue Bloods’

Selleck ‘Frustrated’ By Blue Bloods Cancellation

Selleck is certainly thankful now that he ended up doing Blue Bloods. Indeed, the show has become one of the highlights of his decades-long career. In fact, Selleck is so devoted to Blue Bloods that he has spent much of the past year desperately trying to save it from cancellation.

“​​I’m kind of frustrated,” he told TV Insider last month. “During those last eight shows, I haven’t wanted to talk about an ending for Blue Bloods but about it still being wildly successful. In a Top 100 Shows of 2023-2024 (in total viewers, we were No. 9 out of 100), if you discount the three football shows, we’re No. 6!”

“My frustration is the show was always taken for granted because it performed from the get-go. So how do I feel? It’s going to take a long time to sort all of this out. I remember after the weekend [of the final episode’s shoot], I said, ‘I’ve got to get to bed early tonight because I have to do my dialogue for Monday,’” Selleck added. “Well, there was no Monday. It’s just going to take a while.”

Related: Tom Selleck Broke Down In Tears Watching Donnie Wahlberg’s Final ‘Blue Bloods’ Scene

Blue Bloods Cast Is ‘A Family’

One of the hardest parts about saying goodbye to Blue Bloods has been how close the cast has gotten.

“The family of actors is as close as the Reagan family and the characters that they play,” Selleck explained. “There’s isn’t a single one of them who didn’t want to come back. Most shows don’t end that way — there’s petty jealousy and all sorts of things– and we seemed to overcome that. It’s something for everybody to hang their hats on and be proud of.”

The final episode of Blue Bloods airs on December 13. If you’re a fan, be sure to tune in so that we can give this incredible show the successful sendoff that it deserves!

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