11 Best Blue Bloods Guest Stars, Ranked

Blue Bloods has had many outstanding guest stars during its fourteen-year run. The Tom Selleck-led drama focuses mainly on the members of the Reagan family, a multi-generational family of New York City cops; however, it wouldn’t be able to tell its stories without guest actors playing cops, victims, villains, and friends of the family. Over the years, some guest stars have become beloved secondary characters who have earned their place at Blue Bloods’ Reagan family dinner table.

Many of the best Blue Bloods episodes have big-name stars delivering emotional performances, although there have also been lesser-known actors who contributed memorable and meaningful scenes. Blue Bloods often uses actors who are primarily known for their roles on Broadway, who may not be as recognizable to television audiences. It also often features actors primarily known for comedy who get the opportunity to demonstrate their dramatic chops through their appearances on Blue Bloods.

11. Bebe Neuwirth as Kelly Peterson

Season 9, Episode 2

Bebe Neuwirth is best known as Lilith, Frasier Crane’s love interest on Cheers, who he had an intense love/hate relationship with and who divorced him before the start of Frasier. She has been in many roles since, both comedic and dramatic, but her appearances on Blue Bloods as Inspector General Kelly Peterson are among her most memorable. Frank butted heads with Kelly a lot, as he does with all figures whose policies interfere with the way he wants to run the NYPD. However, the two had off-the-chart chemistry, and it’s disappointing that they never attempted to date.

Instead, Kelly resigned from her position because of her feelings for Frank. However, she returned in an early season 9 episode as Corporate Counsel, giving Frank a heads-up that one of her assistants intended to sue the NYPD because they felt their sexual assault case was handled inappropriately. Her role in this episode was small, but still oozed chemistry, and it would be wonderful if Neuwirth returned again during the episodes Blue Bloods has left.

10. Whoopi Goldberg as City Council Speaker Regina Thomas

Season 11, Episode 1

Whoopi Goldberg is one of Blue Bloods’ most controversial guest stars. Although the actress is primarily known for her comedic movies, she is also outspoken about her liberal political views, and her character holds many of the same opinions she does. Although this irks that segment of the audience who dislikes her views, it makes for effective drama, as Frank disagrees strongly with her and refuses to let her bully him into changing his policies.

In Goldberg’s final appearance, Regina Thomas faced off with Frank over the issue of police brutality. Frank has always held the position that police officers must make split-second decisions, which sometimes leads to tragic results, while Thomas was equally convinced that racism plays a role in officer-involved shootings. Goldberg’s role was memorable because it helped demonstrate that there are no easy answers to issues like these, leaving the audience to come to their own conclusions about who was right.

9. Lou Diamond Phillips as Luis Delgado

Season 10, Episode 12

Lou Diamond Phillips is one of the best-known character actors to have guest-starred in Blue Bloods. He first received national attention in 1988 for his role in Stand and Deliver and has played both cops and villains in various police procedurals. In Blue Bloods, he played Louis Delgado, a mobster who was often a thorn in Danny’s side. His performance in Blue Bloods season 10, episode 12 stands out because the tables were turned, and he and Danny had to work together.

This episode was a fitting end to the Delgado saga, with Delgado going into WItness Protection and joking that he’ll take Danny’s name as his new identity.

This tense episode began with Delgado confiding in Danny that someone was threatening his sons to intimidate him out of testifying against other mobsters. When one of those sons was kidnapped, Danny lead the investigation to bring him home safely. This episode was a fitting end to the Delgado saga, with Delgado going into WItness Protection and joking that he’ll take Danny’s name as his new identity. It also demonstrated that Delgado was one of the best characters in Blue Bloods; it was sad that he was leaving even though he did nothing but cause Danny trouble.

8. Nick Cordero as Victor Lugo

Season 8, Episode 20

Outside of Blue Bloods, Nick Cordero was best known as a Broadway actor who had been nominated for several awards and won an Outer Critics Cirlce Award and Theatre World Award for his portrayal of Creech in Bullets Over Broadway. He appeared in Blue Bloods three times as Victor Lugo, a mobster who thought he was smarter than Danny and constantly needled him, giving him the nickname “Defective Reagan.” Sadly, Cordero died of COVID near the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, cutting short his promising career as well as his relationship with Blue Bloods.

Lugo was a popular character because of the way he teased Danny. During his final appearance in season 8, he was the only person who knew what had happened to a notorious cop killer who had escaped from prison. Thus, Danny had to temporarily release Lugo so they could work together to recapture the fugitive. Cordero’s appearance is memorable because it’s unclear whether Danny can trust him, though he eventually proves himself by saving Danny’s life from a bombing plot.

7. Treat Williams as Lenny Ross

Season 13, Episode 20

The late Treat Williams was a well-known actor who had gotten his start on Broadway but was most recognizable for his role in TV’s Everwood. He appeared at least once a season in Blue Bloods as Lenny Ross, a friend of Frank’s who had worked with him at the NYPD and who often got himself in trouble with silly schemes that Frank had to try to get him out of without betraying his moral compass.

Williams final appearance in Blue Bloods came only weeks before his death in a motorcycle accident. Ironically, his character had to face his own mortality, as he had elected not to pursue any further treatment for his cancer. This led to several emotional scenes as he and Frank both had to process and accept Lenny’s impending death. Blue Bloods later honored Williams with a tribute at the family dinner table after his character was said to have died of his disease.

6. Jimmy Buffett As Dickie Delaney And Himself

Season 12, Episode 11

Jimmy Buffett’s Blue Bloods character was iconic, both because Buffett was far better known for his music than his acting and because it was his final appearance before his death. He is one of the biggest stars to appear in Blue Bloods, and his guest shot was a fitting end to a career that had spanned over 50 years. This story was also one of the most humorous that Blue Bloods had ever offered.

For the majority of the episode, Buffett played a con artist named Dickie Delaney who was pretending to be Jimmy Buffett to separate Buffett fans from their money. Delaney was so good at impersonating Buffett that he initially fooled Danny, who then worked tirelessly to stop the scheme and bring the con artist to justice. Buffett followed this up with a cameo as himself at the end of the episode, but his performance as someone pretending to be himself made this episode memorable.

5. Lyle Lovett as Waylon Gates

Season 10, Episode 14

Jimmy Buffett wasn’t the only singer to appear in Blue Bloods, as Lyle Lovett also made two guest appearances as Waylon Gates, a Texas Ranger who worked with Danny on joint missions to catch serial killers and cartel members who had started their crime spree in Texas before causing trouble in New York. Gates was one of the most popular guest characters in Blue Bloods even though his episodes were more far-fetched than other stories in the series.

In “Fog of War,” Gates and Danny team up to find the Lone Star Killer, a notorious serial killer and drug cartel member who comes from Texas. Danny is initially annoyed with Gates and reluctant to work with him, but by the end of the episode, the two have respect for each other. This episode is memorable because it is so different than other Blue Bloods episodes, and Lyle Lovett makes a great cowboy, connecting the series’ values to the Western genre.

4. Larry Manetti as Retired Sergeant Sam Velucci

Season 13, Episode 18

Larry Manetti’s guest appearance was one of the most anticipated in Blue Bloods history because he had co-starred with Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I. However, Selleck and Manetti did not share any scenes during this story. Regardless, Manetti offered a strong performance as a retired police sergeant, Sam Velucci, who was desperate to get justice after his grandson’s death from opioids. Velucci holds a dealer at gunpoint, which gets him into legal trouble, yet his actions lead to the arrest of a dealer, thus setting up an ethical dilemma for Eddie as she investigates this case.

The circumstances of the story make it even more disappointing that Manetti and Selleck didn’t share scenes, as Frank could have easily weighed in on the behavior of a former NYPD cop. Despite this oversight, the episode puts a unique spin on the serious problem of opioid abuse, and Manetti’s performance as a heartbroken grandfather who has gone vigilante to get justice for his late grandson makes it one of the series’ most emotional episodes.

3. Erika Slezak as Donna Duvall

Season 13, Episode 9

Erika Slezak is best known for her role on the soap opera One Life to Live, but she also appeared in Blue Bloods twice as Henry’s neighbor, Donna Duvall. In both cases, Henry helps her out of a jam, first helping her deal with a package thief who turns out to be her granddaughter, and then trying to expose a scammer who preyed on her because she is a senior citizen. Her second appearance brought awareness to the problem of online scammers who target those who are older and might not be as technologically savvy.

Although Henry’s potential has mostly been wasted in Blue Bloods season 14, that could be rectified if Donna returns again. Slezak has good chemistry with Len Cariou, and both her appearances have been fun. Sadly, their friendship has never moved forward into romance, but that could still happen if Slezak returns one more time before the series wraps up.

2. Tony Danza as Raymond Moretti

Season 12, Episode 14

Like Manetti, Tony Danza plays a cop who is in trouble because of his desire to protect his family. Danza is best known for his roles in classic comedies such as Taxi and Who’s The Boss?, though he has played other dramatic roles on television. He shines as father and retired cop Raymond Moretti, who is caught between his divided loyalties, leaving Frank with an ethical dilemma after learning more about why someone shot at Moretti.

Moretti is shot at a drive-by at his home, which makes this case a top priority for the NYPD. However, an investigation reveals that Moretti’s son is involved in gang activity, which is what brought violence to the Moretti home — and worse, Moretti already knew but kept that fact to himself. Frank’s confrontation with Moretti is the highlight of the hour and Danza gives a superb performance as he explains his refusal to turn his back on his son.

1. Ed Asner as Chuck Kennedy

Season 10, Episode 15

In his last years, Ed Asner became a familiar face on police procedurals, appearing on both Law & Order: SVU and Blue Bloods. Asner died in 2021 at the age of 91, making his Blue Bloods appearance one of his final roles and a fitting end to his long career. In this episode, he played a housebound man who was an inspiration to many of the Reagans and who had become a victim of a violent crime.

This episode is one of Blue Bloods’ saddest because Frank quickly discovers that no one wants to help wheelchair-bound “Mister Kay” now that he’s a disabled senior citizen, yet the man helped everyone in the neighborhood, including Frank, who had been going down the wrong path until Mr. Kay gave him a job in the movie theater. Asner’s performance is especially strong in a scene where he tries and fails to go out of his house to aid the investigation and lashes out at Frank as a result.