Andre Braugher’s Costar Dirk Blocker Says He Was the ‘Father Figure’ of “B99” Cast: ‘Always There for People’ (Exclusive)

Dirk Blocker, who starred on ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ with Andre Braugher, tells PEOPLE the late actor will be remembered for being “so giving of himself”

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Dirk Blocker (left) and Andre Braugher.

When Dirk Blocker thinks about the time he spent shooting Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Andre Braugher, it’s always with fondness and immense respect for an actor who didn’t just portray a captain on the show but also made it a point to be a “father figure” to the cast, too.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Blocker, 66, recalls a meaningful moment during the sitcom’s first season when Fox released short introductory videos about his character, Hitchcock, and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller).

“The day they were released, Joel and I were sitting in our little area, and the main cast was sitting in another area,” he explains, adding, “Andre walks into the room, and in a very loud voice — certainly loud enough for Joel and I to hear — which I think was his point, he said, ‘Have you seen the Hitchcock videos?’”

Related: Remembering Andre Braugher’s Life Through His Most Iconic Roles

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‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ stars Andre Braugher, Dirk Blocker and Anna Bogomazova

“Everybody looked at him like, ‘What?’” he continues. “And he said, ‘You’ve got to see. These are magnificent.’ … Everybody gathered around him on that side of the room and looked over his shoulder while he played the three videos of ours to the rest of the group.”

Braugher frequently broke out into laughter while viewing them — “he had a great laugh,” Blocker says — but Blocker and McKinnon Miller knew then he was “laughing for us.”

“He wanted us to know that he appreciates what we’re doing, that we’re fitting in, and we’re doing a good job — and he needed to let us know that,” he explains, adding, “He was just so generous with himself at any rate, but that was kind of who he was.”

Braugher, who played Capt. Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine for eight years, died on Monday after a recent illness at the age of 61. The actor earned 11 Emmy nominations during his decades-long career, scoring an Emmy in 1998 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Homicide: Life on the Street and a second win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2006 for the miniseries Thief.

Related: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Cast Pays Tribute to Andre Braugher After His Death: ‘O Captain. My Captain’

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‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ stars Joel McKinnon Miller, Dirk Blocker, Stephanie Beatriz, Terry Crews and Andre Braugher

Braugher and Blocker last appeared together on Late Night with Seth Meyers hours after Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s series finale aired in September 2021. The two didn’t keep in touch afterwards, but Blocker always felt he had a connection with Braugher, hearing from a friend that the actor continued to share “wonderful stories” about their time together shooting the series.

“He was the captain, or the father figure, of the cast,” Blocker says, adding, “I’ll just remember how warm and kind and really how loving he was as a human being. It was just really special.”

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Braugher’s other credits included Glory with Denzel Washington, Kojak with Telley Savalas, as well as City of Angels, Salt, Law & Order, Salem’s Lot, and the upcoming Netflix series The Residence. He also won Obie Awards for his performances in stage productions of Henry V and The Whipping Man.

A Chicago native and Stanford University and Juilliard graduate, Braugher is survived by his wife Ami Brabson, and their children John Wesley Braugher, Michael Braugher and Isaiah Braugher.

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