Every now and then, a show comes along that is so intense and so gripping that it’s hard to imagine it’s actually fictional.
NBC’s crime thriller The Blacklist fit that bill quite nicely, enrapturing audiences from 2013 all the way to its series finale in July 2023. However, along the way, it paid tribute to a person named Tobias Core, and in doing so reminded us that even an expansive, fictional crime drama based on a larger-than-life character is made possible only by the efforts of everyday people.
In season eight’s 12th episode, “Rakitin, No. 28,” the screen faded to black on the shocking cliffhanger voicemail revealing Rakitin’s death, only to display the name “Tobias Core” shortly before the credits rolled.
Dedications are a common practice in television shows and movies that lose members of their team too soon. Cobra Kai’s dedication to Jeff Kay in season five is just one recent example. Like Kay, Tobias Core worked as an integral member of The Blacklist family, but what was his role exactly?
Who is Tobias Core from The Blacklist season eight’s dedication?
Tobias “Toby” Core worked as a carpenter on The Blacklist from season one to season five (2013 to 2018), across a total of 111 episodes, according to his IMDb page. He was born in 1973 and died in 2021, making him 48 years old at the time of his passing. A cause of death was not listed in his online biography, nor on any of his personal social media platforms.
Core’s resume included several big-named TV shows and movies including Gotham, The Greatest Showman, and John Wick. He also worked as a carpenter on 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man, and Men in Black 3. His first project as a carpenter dates back to 2005 when he worked on Steven Spielberg’s massive blockbuster War of the Worlds.
Prior to working as a carpenter on the aforementioned movie and TV shows, Core was a production assistant from 2000 to 2002.
Although carpentry is slightly less glamorous than, say, an actor, director, or writer, it’s not a stretch to say nary a single movie or TV show would come across on screen half as believable if it weren’t for the hard work of people like Tobias Core and other members of the art department. In Hollywood, carpenters work hand in hand with the director and producer to ensure a project’s final result matches its initial creative vision.
This could look like building a wooden staircase from scratch to erecting entire ships to set sail on water. A carpenter must have detailed and intricate knowledge of the sturdiness and structure of any single foundation. So, not only do we owe the believability of a project to their craftsmanship but we also owe the safety of our favorite actors and stunt workers to their strict attention to detail.
Tobias Core may have passed away too soon, but his hand in various beloved blockbusters has left behind a legacy that will last for centuries to come. May he rest in peace.