It’s hard to picture the modern television landscape without Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—or its iconic dun dun. The show launched in 1999 as the first spin-off of Dick Wolf’s original Law & Order and quickly became a juggernaut (and a pillar of NBC’s prime-time lineup) in its own right. Now in its 25th season, SVU holds the title of longest-running live-action prime-time series of all time. Over that quarter-century, detectives have come and gone, New York City has evolved, and an all-star lineup of guest stars has cycled through, but one constant has remained: Mariska Hargitay.
The actress has led the show through the entirety of its record-breaking run, playing Olivia Benson (a character so iconic, Taylor Swift named a cat after her), who audiences first met as a junior detective but who rose through the ranks over the years to become captain. “I’m very proud of the progression that Benson’s made,” Hargitay says. “I’d like to think she’s [representative of] the progression of women in general over 25 years.” Hargitay’s own role on the show has similarly expanded, as she has directed eight episodes and become an executive producer. Her acting work, meanwhile, has earned her a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe, and in 2013 she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—fittingly right beside that of her mother, Jayne Mansfield.
Hargitay’s impact transcends Law & Order, too. Inspired by Olivia Benson—and the overwhelming response Hargitay received from survivors who connected with the character—she founded the Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization that has been working to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse since 2004. She also produced the Emmy Award–winning HBO documentary I Am Evidence, which shed light on the hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits that had been sitting in police storage across the country. More than 500 episodes on, Olivia Benson continues the quest for justice, and Hargitay has done her part to bring that fight to the real world.
You’ve been playing Olivia Benson for 25 years, so I’m sure people equate you with the character. How do you view the Venn diagram between yourself and her?
You know, it’s changed. There’s so many ways that we intersect, and there’s so many ways that we’re different. I’m lucky that I’ve been able to live with this character, who has such a beautiful North Star toward justice. She has this inexhaustible reservoir of energy to pursue that, and is so fearless in so many ways. That’s been a beautiful character to live with, and I think playing this character has informed me in so many ways. But she’s definitely not as funny as I am! I get to be my cozy little self with my family, and funny, and silly. I’m not one to jump out of airplanes or walk anywhere alone at night, because I’m a scaredy cat. So I get to have both.
A hallmark of the show is that you film on the streets of New York. What’s it like having the city be your set?
I love it. We always view New York City as, like, the sixth or seventh character, because it informs so much of what we do. It’s been beautiful for me to shoot in so many places and get to know the city so intimately. I can hardly go anywhere without going, “Oh, I did a scene there with Sam Waterston,” or having these memories of Chris [Meloni] and I doing this beautiful scene at the New York Public Library. It’s also a pretty incredible experience to be embraced by the city in such a loving way. I’m from Los Angeles, so it’s a beautiful thing to be up close and personal with New Yorkers, because they’re so outgoing. We’ll be shooting, and they’ll be like, “I love you! Where’s Ice-T?” It just feels like this big city becomes this little cozy town.
In addition to SVU’s anniversary, this year marks 20 years of the Joyful Heart Foundation. How did playing Benson inspire you to take that survivor advocacy work from TV to real life?
As soon as the show started airing, I immediately started receiving fan mail from survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence who were disclosing their stories to me. I went from being on ER and other shows where people just wrote fan letters asking for an autograph or a picture, and all of a sudden I started getting these intimate stories of shame, isolation, and abuse. Then, at the same time, Dick Wolf was being honored by the Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Program at Mount Sinai Hospital, and during that night I learned the statistics, which I was floored by. I wanted to do something about it, so Joyful Violence Intervention Program at Mount Sinai Hospital, and during that night I learned the statistics, which I was floored by. I wanted to do something about it, so Joyful Heart was my response to the epidemic of sexual violence. I wanted to shine a light on it, bring more attention, and get everybody talking about this thing that had been historically swept under the carpet. I started it in 2004, and I’m very happy with how far we’ve come and how the culture has changed. Society is certainly more open to talking about these issues than it was 20 years ago.
You’re also now a director on the show, most recently helming one of my favorite episodes, “King of the Moon.” I’m curious how you look at SVU as a canvas, from a director’s point of view. Is it daunting, because there’s this expectation of what an episode of SVU should be, or does that structure foster creativity?
When you work with a group of people for so long, you have this intimacy and trust. I think one of the reasons that SVU is still ongoing is that our motto is “best idea wins.” So if I have an idea and I pitch it to the directors, if it’s a great idea, they take it. When I direct, it’s the same way: I know what I’m good at, but I really rely on all the department heads to bring their A game. I like to push them to do their best, and to inspire and excite them. I think that a creative environment is so important to make something beautiful. So when I direct, do I feel pressure to make a great episode? Yes, but I also feel an enormous amount of freedom, because I feel safe, I feel trusted, and I know that people want me to think outside the box and bring my creativity.
Now, going into the 25th season, do you feel any pressure to change things up? If we’re not gonna do new and cool stuff now, then when? We wanna keep pushing the envelope and getting better. That was my big speech to everyone at the beginning of this year. I said, “Guys, we know how to do this. We’ve been doing it for so long. We do it with a smile. We do it gratefully. We’re also good at our jobs. And how can we surprise ourselves? How can we go further than we even imagine?” Because it’s a marathon, so we wanna finish strong. Not that I see the finish in sight, but I wanna finish strong. And if I’m not giving it everything, then I don’t wanna do it anymore. I’d rather do something else.
Let me go back to the “King of the Moon” episode for a moment: There’s a line in there in which guest star Bradley Whitford tells Benson that she has a face like Jayne Mansfield, which I thought was a really sweet nod to your mother. How did that little fourth-wall break come about?
You know, it was so beautiful. It was just this perfect opportunity, because it was so truthful to the character, and it was right for the story, so we seized it. It was a little bit of a carpe diem moment. We didn’t know if we were gonna keep it or not, but Bradley played that note so beautifully and artfully that it made the final cut. I was a little nervous about it, but that’s the fun thing about taking risks.
You’ve played Olivia Benson on multiple shows across the Dick Wolf universe—what’s it like bringing the character to those different sets?
Is it like being a transfer student for a day? That’s a great analogy; it does feel like a big, beautiful universe, and I’m so grateful to be in its orbit. It’s like going to visit your cousins. One of my favorite producers, for example, who was on SVU got moved to the mothership, so I get to go visit him. Same with Organized Crime—going to visit Chris is like going to play with your favorite brother. It’s a very interesting thing, because you’re a guest, so you wanna bring your A game, but at the same time, what’s fun for me is I’m kind of the OG, right?
Speaking of Chris Meloni, what was it like finally getting him back into the fold with Organized Crime and getting to reunite Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler?
For a very long time, I was trying to get Chris back into the universe. He left and did all his other great shows and took a break, but I was ready. So I was trying to broker the deal between him and Dick, going, “I think it’s time for the prodigal son to come home.” It’s such a testament to Chris that even though he was gone for so many years, he wasn’t forgotten. It’s also a testament to the power of Olivia and Elliot’s relationship, and how deep that was in the hearts and souls of the fans. That was really meaningful.
You have more than 500 episodes under your belt, so I wonder, do people ever come up to you and talk about episodes that you have zero memory of shooting?
So much so that it concerns me! I can do you one better: There’ve been times when I’ve seen an episode, and I have no recollection of shooting it. That’s the worst part, where I go, “OK, where was I? I don’t remember this!” But yeah, there’s times when people talk about an episode, and I have no idea, or I see an episode and have no idea, but more often I do remember. It’s sort of interesting what you remember and what you don’t.
What’s kept you coming back for 25 years?
The length of time that the series has been on has given us this very unique opportunity to do something unprecedented. It’s the longest-running show in history, and it’s not by accident that Benson’s progression mirrors the exact evolution of women in broader society. She’s kind of the greatest feminist character ever, in that way. Think about it: When the series began, she was a classic cop-drama ingénue. As the series progressed, she’s grown well beyond that role. She rose up through the ranks, became a leader, and now captain—all while being a mother. Let’s see how far we can take it, you know?
