Steve Schirripa Says the ‘Close Knit’ Blue Bloods Cast ‘Treated Me Like One of Them’ from Day 1 (Exclusive)

Steve Schirripa was welcomed Blue Bloods like a family.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the 67-year-old actor opens up about how the cast of the CBS series treated him when he joined the show in 2015 to play Detective Anthony Abetemarco.

“It was a very close group, really, a nice group of people,” says Schirripa. “I didn’t know anyone, so it’s weird when you jump in and everyone knows each other and you’re the new guy.”

“But they treated me like one of them from day one,” adds the star, who recently partnered with Freshpet for a new commercial.

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Steve Schirripa in ‘Blue Blood’.

Patrick Harbron/CBS

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According to Schirripa, he starred in Blue Bloods for much longer than initially expected.

“I was there for nine years. I was on one, maybe two episodes. I did 146,” he says. “I did two episodes and the hosts said, ‘Do you want to do more?’ And I said, ‘I’d love to.’ So I stayed and they wrote some great stuff for me.”

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For Schirripa, being part of an all-star cast was amazing and he loved working with others, including Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan and Tom Selleck.

“I mostly worked with Bridget and Donnie, but I ended up working with everyone at one point, so that was good,” The Sopranos alum says. “I love working with Bridget, she’s a great, underrated actress who’s been great to work with, really smart, and Donnie’s a great guy and a lot of fun.”

From the left: Steven Schirripa, Vanessa Ray and Bridget Moynahan in ‘Blue Bloods’.

John Paul Filo/CBS/Getty

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After 14 seasons, Blue Bloods came to an end earlier this month.

“Everyone was very sad [about the show ending] because the grades were good. We couldn’t understand why it was canceled,” Schirripa tells PEOPLE. “But it’s been a beautiful ride and … it’s been really great on every level.”

As for keeping in touch with his former co-stars, the actor says: “I just saw Bridget in [New York] Knicks game, and I was talking to Will Estes the other day. We stay in touch.”

Blue Bloods is available to stream on Paramount+.

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Source: HIS Education