Throughout the long-running Law & Order franchise, many actors have come and gone, with very few sticking around for 20+ years. Mariska Hargitay has been the face of Law & Order: SVU for over 25 years now, and built a strong legacy because of it. She previously received an honor from the Smithsonian National Museum, which displayed one of Olivia Benson's costumes. She’s previously opened up about auditioning with Christopher Meloni, and now she’s admitting how challenging it was to work with him and others during SVU’s early days.
While speaking with Today, Hargitay recalled the beginnings of SVU and her instant chemistry with Meloni. Despite the two immediately clicking, doing the series wasn’t initially so easy. On top of having to relocate from her hometown of Los Angeles to New York City where the show films, she was working alongside some pretty legendary people in television and joining a beloved franchise. Unsurprisingly, she was nervous:
When I started the show, I was dealing with a titan, a television titan, Dick Wolf, and going into this show that had very long legs and incredible credibility. And dealing with such a powerful person like Chris Meloni. It was a lot to manage. And all these seasoned actors, and just the business of saying, ‘OK, yes,’ on their terms. Everything was on other people’s terms, and I think that we have to sacrifice ourselves to fit in, often.
Of course, SVU was far from her first television role, having starred in the short-lived sitcom Can’t Hurry Love and having a brief stint on ER. But working with people like Dick Wolf and Meloni, among others, was understandably intimidating. She didn’t let that stop her from doing the best she could, however, and Hargitay had to learn and grow as an artist among some of the best of the best in television:
And so the evolution for me is learning how to grow into that and not compromise myself, my artistry, my creativity, my opinion, and most of all, my intuition and knowing. And to listen to that inner voice.
Whatever Mariska Hargitay did worked, because she is certainly considered to be one of the best of of network television and is the longest-running actor in the Law & Order franchise. Plus, she's close with both Meloni and Wolf, who has a Law & Order ringtone. Even though she couldn’t have predicted the impact that SVU would go on to have when the show first started out, it’s clear Hargitay was aware of just how special the show was. It's hard to believe nowadays that someone like Hargitay was once intimidated, but it shows just how much can truly change in 25 years.
Law & Order: SVU is continuing its 26th season in the 2025 TV schedule, although it has yet to be renewed for Season 27. There is still much to look forward to, and I wouldn't be surprised if the procedural makes it to the milestone 30th season.
Meanwhile, Hargitay’s friendship with Christopher Meloni is also continuing, whether they do episodes together or just hang out and stumble across an SVU reference. Although a crossover between SVU and Organized Crime may be harder now that OC is set to stream exclusively with a Peacock subscription, that still shouldn’t be too bad. Fans will just have to wait and see for Bensler to reunite again.
