Why Richard Rourke From Blue Bloods Looks So Familiar
Though it's been some years since it aired, Season 3, Episode 6 ("Quid Pro Quo") of "Blue Bloods" presented a twist that audiences couldn't have expected and still leave some wondering.
The episode follows Assistant District Attorney Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) being asked to reopen a cold case by Nathan Anderson (Clarke Peters), whose daughter Jenny was murdered 15 years ago. While Erin and her brother Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) originally concluded that there was not enough evidence to build against Richard Rourke (Eric Mabius), Jenny's boyfriend at the time, they eventually dig deeper and find out that Richard's alibi is false. With a locket Jenny was wearing at the time of her murder and updated DNA testing, Danny runs it through again.
While Erin welcomes Richard's flirting and meets him at a bar, it's purely for the sake of getting his DNA, which she does so. With Erin's sample, the pair discover that it wasn't Richard's, but in fact someone he is related to. This conclusion leads them to Richard's father Preston Rourke (John Cunningham), and they discover he killed Jenny when she tried to break up a fight between the father and son.
Mabius has had quite a few roles before and after his time on "Blue Bloods". Here are some of his more impressive credits to date.
Blackmailed in Cruel Intentions
In 1999, Mabius found himself in the cult-classic dramatic romance film, "Cruel Intentions," starring alongside Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Philippe, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
The star-studded cast follows two stepsiblings with, well, cruel intentions. They place a bet — Kathryn (Gellar) agrees that if Sebastian (Philippe) can seduce Annette (Witherspoon), she'll sleep with him and if he fails, he'll give her his Jaguar. Kathryn is cold and manipulative and her true intent is to bring down newcomer Cecile (Selma Blair), who her boyfriend left her for. Neither sibling will back down, which spells out some ugliness in their relentless wake.
Sebastian sets off overly confident to win the affection of Annette, despite her outspokenness about chastity and practicing abstinence before marriage. In his way is Greg, portrayed by Mabius. As a close friend of Annette's, Sebastian believes that Greg has already warned Annette of Sebastian's awful reputation, causing her to steer clear of him. In retaliation, Sebastian blackmails Greg, who is a closeted homosexual; Sebastian threatens to share a photo of Greg and another male student together unless Greg puts in a good word about him to Annette.
Sebastian finds out that it was Cecile's mother (Christine Baranski) who warned Annette, and by the end of the film is somehow able to win Annette over, though the victory is short, as he dies after being struck by a taxi.
A heroic postman in the Signed, Sealed, and Delivered Hallmark series
Since 2013, Mabius has featured in the Hallmark "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" series and TV movies, which follows a group of postal workers (they call themselves the Postables) who go above and beyond, tracking down recipients for mail that's been deemed undeliverable.
Delivering the mail changes lives and Oliver O'Toole, portrayed by Mabius, firmly believes that there is no better communication than with old-fashioned letters and stamps. Oliver is joined by Shane McInerney (Kristin Booth), Rita Haywith-Dorman (Crystal Lowe), and Norman Xavier Dorman (Geoff Gustafson). Mabius has been in both seasons of "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" and also lent his talent to the films that follow the Postables on their adventures.
They reunite couples in love, families that have fallen out of touch, and overall spread cheer and positivity, and Mabius' turn as Oliver is nothing short of enjoyable. With 12 films, audiences have hours to become acquainted with Oliver and his Postables family and their peaceful message that faith alone can safely guide them to their true destination.
A corrupt ex-firefighter in Chicago Fire
"Blue Bloods" isn't Mabius' only appearance on a crime drama show. In 2015, he found himself in "Chicago Fire" as Jack Nesbitt, an ex-CFD firefighter who bought and founded a club called Stiletto's. He hires fellow firefighter Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) who helps him expand the property and is an interesting character during the show's third season.
While handsome and charming, Nesbitt is also involved with Bulgarian gangsters in a sex trafficking ring involving Eastern European women and is brought swiftly to justice with the help of Detective Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and victim Katya Antov (Isabella Miko) who took notes on her attackers. The charge against Nesbitt goes up handsomely when Katya is found murdered in Casey's apartment. Though it takes a while before anyone will believe Casey's suspicions, Nesbitt is soon locked behind bars just as he deserves and Casey rests peacefully after the case is closed.
While audiences might Mabius in "Blue Bloods", there are quite a few other roles they can enjoy him in that fully illustrate his acting range and ability as a criminal, a humble postman, and anything in between.