Blue Bloods' Stars Were Allowed To Eat Their Family Dinner If They Followed One Rule
Blue Bloods' Stars Were Allowed To Eat Their Family Dinner If They Followed One Rule
Kira DeshlerSun, November 8, 2026 at 12:52 AM UTC
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Pluto TV/CBS (Pluto TV/CBS)
The Reagan family dinners on "Blue Bloods" are the heart of the series, giving the characters a chance to come together after a long, hard week in law enforcement. These scenes were important for the cast too, according to star Donnie Wahlberg. "It's an incredible blessing to have that dinner scene as a check-in every week, much like the Reagans do, fictionally," he shared in an interview with Emmy Magazine, as reported by People.
But the dinner scenes were far more laborious to film than they might seem, and the cast followed certain rules to make the shoots as seamless as possible. In an interview with the Virginian-Pilot, "Blue Bloods" prop master Jim Lillis shared some behind-the-scenes secrets from the filming of these dinner scenes. He answered an age-old question about on-screen meals: do the actors actually eat their food?
According to Lillis, he had one rule regarding food consumption. Actors were allowed to munch on the food if they so pleased, but they were prohibited from delivering their lines with their mouths full.
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The actors had their own strategies for filming the family dinner scenes
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According to "Blue Bloods" patriarch, Tom Selleck, the family dinners took six to eight hours to film, which is a rather long time to be eating — or pretending to eat — a meal. Selleck revealed some of the tricks of the trade at a PaleyFest panel, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. "Bridget [Moynahan] is a food masher. She keeps her hand real active and combines her potatoes and everything. I butter rolls," he shared.
Vanessa Ray, who played Eddie Lanko, was initially too enthusiastic at her first dinner scenes, before realizing her mistake. "I kept eating and I realized, 'Oh, you can't eat 17 rolls,'" she explained.
However, there was one "Blue Bloods" star who actually ate the food, even flouting Jim Lillis' rule about table manners. "Danny is kind of a bull in a china shop. The best way to play that at dinner is to talk a lot with his mouth full," Donnie Wahlberg told TV Insider. Following "Blue Bloods" cancellation after 14 seasons, Wahlberg took the Reagan family dinner table from the set and placed it in his own family-run restaurant, Wahlburgers, for fans to enjoy.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
