Will Estes has appeared in every episode of “Blue Bloods” to date as Jamie Reagan, who first served as a patrol officer before being promoted to sergeant in Season 9. Estes also played a police officer in the 2012 film “The Dark Knight Rises” and has a filmography stretching back to 1987, when he was just nine years old.

The Los Angeles native and current New York City resident recently sat down for a live video chat with fans where he discussed filming in New York and his fondness for his adopted home city.

“It’s one of the most alive places in the world,” Estes said of New York. “It’s so fun to get out on the streets and shoot, and meet people.” Estes also mentioned his childhood fascination with motor vehicles, saying “I’ve been driving anything with a motor since I was a little kid.”

He explained that while the standard practice in Hollywood is to put a car on a flatbed trailer and show scenery via a green screen behind it, over the show’s nearly 300 episodes he has earned enough trust with “Blue Bloods” producers that he is sometimes put behind the wheel of a real prop police car. “Now they just strap a camera to the car and let me drive,” he said. “That’s been a lot of fun.”

Blue Bloods also enlists the help of a retired NYPD detective

Will Estes has been carefully honing his acting talent and driving skills since childhood, and that combination has made him a uniquely valuable part of the “Blue Bloods” cast for 13 years and counting.

Having at least one cast member able to actually drive a police car on set is not the only way “Blue Bloods” producers are able to infuse elements of realism into the show. In the Q&A session, Estes also credited one behind-the-scenes figure who is critically important to making sure “Blue Bloods” gives a realistic look at what policing is like in New York City.

“We have a wonderful technical advisor on the show, Jim Nuciforo, who was a detective first grade on NYPD,” Estes said. “I love learning about all the cop stuff, and what it really is to chase and catch bad guys.” CBS’s legal advisors will no doubt prevent Estes from making any actual arrests, keeping his on-set policing simulations to the occasional drive down 42nd Street.