Q:  What are some of the recent projects you’ve been working on?

A:  Well, “Blue Bloods” is the thing that we just wrapped for the season, a couple of weeks ago.

Q:  That has kept you busy most of the time?

A:  Yeah, it’s a ten month a year commitment, for sure.

Q:  What do you think it is about the show “Blue Bloods” that originally made you want to be a part of it?

A:  I think Tom Selleck’s involvement, I was really excited about that, and also working with Donnie Wahlberg who I was a fan of his acting. I didn’t know his music, but I was a fan of his acting.

Q:  Did you have instant chemistry then, between you and Donnie? Did it come naturally for you, or did you think it took a little bit of time to develop?

A:  I mean, just straight from the pilot we had good chemistry. The first scene we had, we had to kiss like an old married couple, not an old married couple but a long-time married couple, at the dinner table and it was a very natural kiss. Things like that can be awkward, but I just grabbed him and kissed him and he was like, okay. That’s how it’s going to be, huh? And I said, yep. We’re married. We kiss. Fine. So that kind of set the tone.

Q:  Is there anything that you find challenging about your role?

A:  You know, it’s hard to always speak with a New York accent. It’s funny because I have one of the strongest accents on the show and I’m from Chicago, but in the pilot, the director of the pilot really wanted me to have a strong New York accent and he kept yelling “More Staten Island!” when we were shooting.  For me that’s a challenging thing, because it’s hard to keep an accent going and keep it fresh and interesting, so for me that’s the most technically challenging thing.

Q:  Do you have any really memorable moments you’ve had so far from filming?

A:  Yes, the thing about “Blue Bloods” that’s so great are these dinner scenes that really show the family.  We’ve had some long days with dinner scenes and there have been times we’ve gotten really silly, it just breaks down after awhile with that many people sitting around a table. I remember one day we got into the, what do you call a man, you know those jokes, with no arms, no legs, sits on your doorstep? They’re puns on peoples names, is what they are. So we started going further and further and deeper and deeper and like really reaching to make things work and we were just crying. It was child’s humor, it was like eight-year-olds humor, and every person at the table, Tom Selleck, Len Cariou, Donnie, Bridget Moynihan, everyone was there and we were all in tears laughing so hard from just something simple like child-like jokes. It’s days like that that make it really fun.  We were really reaching at the end. It just got into the realm of ridiculous.

Q:  Is there anything about the upcoming new season of the show that you can tease for us?

A:  I think my character, Linda, is going to go back to work. When she and Danny got together she was a nurse, and she’s been raising her boys.  I think that this season she’s going to go back to work which will be fun to see who she is outside of the dinner table and home, and who they are as a couple with her back at work and not just at home. I think that will be a really interesting aspect to explore.

Q:  Who are some people you would like to see maybe guest star on the show?

A:  Gosh, I don’t know. I guess maybe someone like Lorraine Bracco would be fun to see on the show playing something. She could play my mother, she would be great.

Q:  Oh yeah! She’s amazing. She already has the accent too.

A:  Exactly! I don’t know why she just popped into my mind, but that would be fun. There’s been so many great guest stars thus far, I mean no one’s really coming to mind right away.  Jeremy Renner. He’ll never do it. (laughs).

Q: What do you think it is about the show that continues to draw in all the viewers?

A:  I think that it’s just a great show. I think the storytelling is solid. It has such a nice blend of procedural and what always makes our show work so well is the heart that the writers put in it and bringing it home to the story and home to the family is what gives it that heart. Our show is unique in that we’re not just a procedural, we’re a show with family that’s involved and because of that blend I think it really works. And of course, Tom Selleck and Donnie.

Q:  You’re a part of the social networking site Twitter, why is it important for you to connect with fans this way?

A:  I think it’s good for the show and I think also sometimes Twitter can be a form of self-expression, but mostly I think it’s most effective in connecting with the fans. They tweet great things and interesting things to me, and I always read their tweets. I don’t always respond, I’ve been kind of a Luddite on Twitter to be honest with you. I don’t really know how to respond that well, so I’m using Twitter as a kind of Luddite on it. But I think it’s great for the fans to know that we hear them and we really care about them and pay attention to what they like and what moves them.

Q:  What would you like to say then to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the show?

A:  I just want to say thanks for watching, and I look forward to more great story-telling.