Why Donnie Hassett From Blue Bloods Looks (And Sounds) So Familiar
Donnie Hassett appears for the first time on "Blue Bloods" in Season 10, Episode 17. While it's clear that he's a bad dude, he's not exactly the episode's villain. Rather, Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) is trying to convict a notorious criminal for murder, and Hassett — that criminal's former underling — agrees to cooperate in exchange for immunity. Erin decides that this is a worthwhile compromise for the sake of her case. Hassett then returns in Season 11, Episode 3, attempting to aid Erin once again only for his efforts to backfire when he winds up with a murder charge.
Actor Mark Deklin plays Hassett in both of these episodes. In an interview with author Ruth Hill, Deklin described this as something of an atypical part for him. "It's a lovely departure for me to do this role," he said. "I'm playing a sociopath."
Of course, even if the character isn't quite familiar territory for Deklin, it's entirely possible that viewers may have recognized him from some of his past work, which consists largely of TV and voice acting roles. So, if Deklin looks or even sounds familiar as Hassett on "Blue Bloods," it's likely from one of the following highlights of his filmography.
Mark Deklin has voiced characters in major video game franchises starting with Call of Duty 3
Mark Deklin's screen acting career technically kicked off in 1999 when he appeared in two episodes of "Guiding Light." Through the early and mid-2000s, he showed up for short stints on several popular TV shows including "Sex and the City" and "CSI: Miami." Then in 2006, he made his voice-acting debut, as the British Major Gerald Ingram in "Call of Duty 3."
His next voice acting role was as protagonist Kratos' younger brother Deimos in the 2008 PSP game "God of War: Chains of Olympus." He reprised this role in its sequel of sorts, "God of War: Ghost of Sparta," in 2010. That same year, he also worked on "Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker." Starting in 2015, he became relatively prolific in this line of work. Between then and 2018, he voiced an operator named Warden in "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege," Overseers in "Dishonored 2," Jerome-092 in "Halo Wars 2," and the O'Driscolls in "Red Dead Redemption 2."
Outside of these video game performances, Deklin contributed to two additional animated characters: Tarzan's father John Greystoke in the 2013 "Tarzan" movie, and a military corporal in a Season 5 episode of the Cartoon Network series "Regular Show."
Deklin became a Hallmark movie star starting with The Wish List
To this day, arguably one of the defining elements of Mark Deklin's filmography is his frequent work as a leading man in Hallmark Channel original movies. His debut Hallmark performance was in the 2010 film "The Wish List" as a character named Erik Cavallieri. Jennifer Esposito stars as Sarah Fischer, a woman with a precise list of qualities she thinks will make a man her ideal partner. Erik fits these criteria, but of course, Sarah soon finds herself more interested in the comparatively less stereotypically hunky barista Fred (David Sutcliffe) at the same café where she first meets Erik.
Some years later, Deklin started appearing in Hallmark movies with greater frequency, starring in "Switched for Christmas" in 2017, "Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa" in 2018, "Love and Sunshine" in 2019, "Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy" also in 2019, "Meet Me at Christmas" in 2020, and "Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday" in 2021.
In an interview with Starry Constellation Magazine, Deklin shared that he didn't always think of himself as a Hallmark guy. "Admittedly, there was a time in my life where I was like I am too cool for Hallmark. I am dark and edgy," he said. "Now, I am like 'No! Why do I always have to be dark and edgy? What's wrong with a film that makes people feel good?'"
He's in the main cast of ABC dramedy GCB
In the mid-2000s, Mark Deklin started showing up on network TV shows for extended stints rather than just one or two episodes like at the start of his career. Between 2006 and 2007, for example, he played a recurring role in the Fox drama "Justice." Then, in 2010, he was a key character in five episodes of another Fox drama titled "Lone Star." In 2012, he landed what was at that point his most sizable role to date, as Blake Reilly in the ABC dramedy "GCB."
Leslie Bibb stars in "GCB" as Amanda Vaughn, a woman who moves back to her childhood hometown of Highland Park, Texas, during a downturn in her life. There she becomes intertwined with some of her former high school classmates, including her rival and successful businessperson Cricket Caruth-Reilly (Miriam Shor). Cricket is married to Blake, who hides the fact that he's gay from the general public while maintaining an arrangement with Cricket that allows him to see men casually and in secret.
"The thing about Blake is that he's not tortured," Deklin said of his character in an interview with author Soraya Vogt. "This is the choice he's made. This is the arrangement that he and his wife have. They both know what's going on, and they're both cool with it."
He's Nick Deering in Marc Cherry's Desperate Housewives follow-up Devious Maids
Mark Deklin played Gabrielle Solis' (Eva Longoria) love interest Bill Pearce in two episodes of "Desperate Housewives" Season 3. He then began working more closely with "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry when he joined Season 2 of "Devious Maids," which was the very next show Cherry spearheaded.
Marisol Suarez (Ana Ortiz) is one of the four protagonists of "Devious Maids," each of whom begins working as a maid with an ulterior motive they're keeping secret from their rich client. Starting in Season 1, Marisol is attempting to clear her son Eddie (Eddie Hassell) of a murder charge. Season 2 then introduces Nick Deering, played by Deklin, as her fiancé and eventual second husband. He appears in each of the season's 12 episodes before he owns up to a murder he committed and ends up in prison.
In an interview with TVLine, Deklin revealed that he only learned Nick's secret a couple episodes into filming. That said, he was always aware that Nick was hiding some sort of dark past even if he didn't know every detail, and was therefore able to play the part accordingly from the start.
He's Senator Jack Bowman in Designated Survivor
The plot of ABC and Netflix drama "Designated Survivor" revolves around the fact that the line of succession for the seat of U.S. president includes a designated survivor, whose job is to reside somewhere other than in Washington, D.C., in case a single attack or disaster kills the president and every other politician in line to take their place. Of course, such an attack does, in fact, kill every other individual in this line of succession at the start of "Designated Survivor," meaning that U.S. HUD secretary and designated survivor Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) suddenly becomes the president of the United States.
Mark Deklin first shows up as a senator from Montana named Jack Bowman in Season 1, Episode 15. For the rest of that season, Bowman is the show's principal antagonist, staunchly opposing the political progress that Kirkman hopes to achieve as president. While more pressing issues and antagonists ultimately arise in future "Designated Survivor" seasons, Deklin's character is an early indicator of the degree of hardship Kirkman must face throughout his unexpected presidential tenure.