Abigail Hawk Dishes on 'Blue Bloods,' Working Alongside the Dashing Tom Selleck and What's Next (EXCLUSIVE)
Dallas had the Ewings. Denver had the Carringtons, and for 13 years, New York had the Reagans. Set in the heart of the Big Apple, Blue Bloods follows the personal and professional lives of a law enforcement family who have made it their mission to catch the bad guys and seek justice for victims. Since making its debut on CBS in 2010, viewers have been hooked on the addictive drama and powerful family dynamics. Abigail Hawk, who plays Police Commissioner Frank Reagan's (Tom Selleck) right hand woman, Detective Abigail Baker, has emerged as a fan favorite, and she'll be missed once the show, now in its 14th season, wraps up in November 2024.
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As fans salute and pay tribute to Commissioner Reagan and his children, Detective Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg), Sergeant Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) and Assistant District Attorney Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan), Woman's World caught up with everyone's favorite detective, Abigail Hawk, to get the scoop on secrets from the set, what it's really like to work with a TV icon like Selleck and the ending she'd like to see for her character.
Abigail Hawk's connection to Abigail Baker
As Abigail Hawk reflects on playing Detective Abigail Baker for well over a decade, the actress smiles and tells Woman's World, “Life imitates art and vice versa when it comes to playing Baker. In many ways, my life off-camera was a lot like hers on-camera.”
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Hawk pauses to think for a moment and adds, “While Baker is way cooler than I am on many fronts, we matured together on this organic journey and in a parallel manner. We were pregnant together. We both have two children, we became the women that we are together, while at the same time we also taught each other different things.”
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Unlike her serious and proper character, Hawk is bubbly, always smiling and full of personality. She chuckles and says, “The sarcastic streak Baker developed over the years, that was all me, but in Baker’s defense she taught me how to have a fire in my belly, be more patient and never doubt your gut instinct,” a lesson Hawk says she learned when her on-screen persona was assaulted in season 11 after letting her guard down and not being aware of her surroundings.
How Abigail Hawk created her signature character
Hawk says she wouldn't have her steady job as Tom Selleck's most trusted confidante at One Police Plaza if it weren’t for Selleck himself. “Baker was meant to be a one-off,” Hawk says, “In fact, Baker was meant to show up once after the pilot and that was going to be it, but Tom and I had an instant rapport the moment we met, and he was like, 'I need someone who can reflect what I am feeling but cannot show and you can be that person. Think of your character like Radar on M*A*S*H.'”
As Hawk describes, “Baker and the Commissioner have this incredible unspoken, non-verbal dialogue, which Tom and I perfected and the fans love seeing in the scenes where people come and go from the Commissioner’s office.” It’s moments like these Hawk says she will miss when Blue Bloods concludes filming in June.
The Tom Selleck you don't know
Tom Selleck has been a heartthrob for over 50 years, so when Hawk mentioned her TV boss by name, WW got her to dish about the award-winning actor and spill the beans about working with him.
Hawk bursts out laughing and says, “Tom has this habit of randomly dropping some crazy one-liners, which are insane jokes that come out of nowhere. I describe them as these big bombs, that always get everyone laughing, especially Gregory Jbara (Garrett) and Robert Clohessy (Sid) who we have the most scenes with.”
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Aside from gushing about Selleck’s witty sense of humor, Hawk also notes how involved Selleck is during the editing process: “Tom magically makes everything better, and his input makes what we do so much stronger.”
Hawk says she is also in awe of Selleck’s constant professionalism. “Tom’s work ethic is like nothing I have ever seen in my life,” Hawk says, “He honestly has a passion for everything he does.” Hawk also mentions Selleck’s memoir, You Never Know, a 352-page book that she says the actor worked tremendously hard on, even personally signing 8,000 copies in advance of its May release.
Hawk describes Selleck as well-read and says he prides himself on reading many different publications so he can get the full picture of what is happening in the world. She even goes one step further, whispering about how Selleck hides having a cellphone (and yes, she has his digits!) because he’s totally against technology. Hawk calls the Selleck the greatest teacher she’s ever had. Some of his best advice? “Tom always talks about how we all wear masks and I use that philosophy on auditions because he’s right, having a secret makes you interesting and it makes people remember you.”
Blue Bloods behind the scenes secrets
Asked about secrets from the Blue Bloods set, Hawk says, “Robert forgets his lines all the time because he was a former boxer and got hit a lot, so he has them in a little folder that sits on the edge of Frank’s desk and looks down to reference them." She also adds, "They always have the best hot coffee for Tom, and it’s seriously the most delicious coffee I ever had." When it comes to capturing New York City, "the cityscape outside One Police Plaza is actually a big curtain that they change with a light," she says.
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Although Hawk is not involved in the Reagan family dinner scenes, something she says Baker should be invited to since the Commissioner’s children invite their working partners, she did explain how they are filmed.
“For starters, the producers prop the actors up so everyone is the same height, because it's easier for the camera angles. The dining room is huge, and the Reagan kitchen is massive because of all the cameras used in those scenes. They also use plastic cutlery because of all the clanking sounds the dishes make and there is always a lot of food.”
Abigail Baker's future
According to Hawk, “Baker would be happy if Frank were the Commissioner forever because she enjoys working for him. However, if given the opportunity, Baker would make a great Police Commissioner because she has the mind for it, she has the drive for it, she is balanced, she is even, she is fair, she knows stuff in the room before anyone else, she’s just so intuitive, and I think she can revolutionize the department.”
Regarding Baker’s personal life, Hawk says, “Outside the office I think Baker needs to leave her husband because she has given him ample opportunity and I think she and her kids deserve so much more and a better path going forward.”
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What else is in store for Abigail Hawk
Hawk has a lot on her plate outside of Blue Bloods. On March 13, the actress will host the ADAPT Leadership Awards, where she has been a four-time past Honorary Co-Chair and past celebrity presenter, in New York City. “Disability representation needs to be stepped up across the board,” Hawk says, “These people are so inspiring, and we need to bring them front and center because representation matters. We need more projects that showcase all of us.”
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In addition to acting, Hawk is also a writer and has been working feverishly on her novel, which she says is set in Victorian-era London and hopes to turn into a screenplay. As for future roles, she mentions she is attached to several indie films, a genre she describes as "dangerously fun" because the parts are riskier and let her challenge herself as an actress. She calls her most recent film, the 2023 indie drama Daruma, groundbreaking due to its casting of disabled actors.
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Off the screen, Hawk is proudly celebrating the news her husband recently became a nurse and is re-joining the workforce. “Without him I could not do what I do,” Hawk gushes, “He is the best partner in the world. If we need to take turns for a bit since we have two young boys at home that is fine, because his never-ending support is invaluable.”
While we'll be sad to say goodbye to Detective Baker later this year, it sounds like Hawk has plenty of exciting projects in store as Blue Bloods wraps up.
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