In his almost six decades as an actor, Tom Selleck has had a steady presence in Hollywood and a heavy influence on the younger generations of stars.

Working alongside the legendary Selleck in Blue Bloods, actor Abigail Hawk, who calls her co-star a “champion,” praises his genius both on and off screen.

Keep reading to learn why Hawk says, “it’s the best gig in the world!”

Abigail Hawk attends “The Adam Project” New York Premiere on February 28, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

When Abigail Hawk was only 28, she landed the role of a lifetime in a new TV series called Blue Bloods, which stars Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan and Jennifer Esposito.

The show centers around a fictional New York City police commissioner, Frank Reagan, the patriarch of a cop family.

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Hawk, 41, stars as Detective Abigail Baker, the trusted aide to the commissioner, who’s played by 78-year-old Selleck.

Baker, whose previous credits include 1995’s TV series Reality Check with Ryan Seacrest, one episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and minor roles in film, admits at the time, she was “greener” than her co-stars.

But levelling the field, Selleck made her feel more comfortable. “I have a seat at the table with him if that makes sense,” Hawk said. “Even though I’m much younger than him, much greener in every sense of the word, he never makes me feel less than…We talk on the same level.”

In fact, it was the man with the signature moustache who gave her character a real identity.

Baker, whose previous credits include 1995’s TV series Reality Check with Ryan Seacrest, one episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and minor roles in film, admits at the time, she was “greener” than her co-stars.

But levelling the field, Selleck made her feel more comfortable. “I have a seat at the table with him if that makes sense,” Hawk said. “Even though I’m much younger than him, much greener in every sense of the word, he never makes me feel less than…We talk on the same level.”

In fact, it was the man with the signature moustache who gave her character a real identity.

“Originally, [Abigail Baker] did not have a last name. She did not have an age. She did not even have a gender. She did not have a race. She did not have an anything. She was either detective Mel or Melissa. So, no first name. Definitely not my first name,” Hawk shared. “I got the role and about two to three episodes in Tom [Selleck] decided to change it to Abigail because he thought Melissa was too ordinary, which I guess is a compliment – so I’ll take it.”

Crediting the star of Magnum P.I. with giving her character life, she adds “He obviously thought it was very important for me to have a last name since I was a person on the show. So, they gave me a full-fledged identity and that was all him.”