In 1999, Mariska Hargitay graced the screen as the fearless and passionate New York City detective Olivia Benson in the iconic show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She has remained in the role for 27 seasons.
But, there is a specific time when Hargitay considered walking away from the television show. Specifically, around season 25, she was having a conversation with Julianna Margulies, who tried to redefine her career by leaving ‘ER’ in 2000.
“I said, ‘I’ve got to leave the show too. I don’t want people to think I’m a one-trick pony,’” Hargitay said in an interview with Variety. “And she goes, ‘Sweetheart, that ship’s sailed.’”
But, at the same time, it was a role she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to.
“I wasn’t ready to leave, because I loved it. And then I got to do all this other stuff, and that’s why I don’t think about leaving right now.” Hargitay said.
Mariska Hargitay Recalls Meeting A Fan Who Said The Show Saved Her Life
The show has impacted Hargitay’s life, with the actress founding the Joyful Heart Foundation, which is a nonprofit that provides support for victims of sexual assault, in 2004.
However, that’s not all. She was once at a play with her husband, when a fan approached her and said that the show and her role as Olivia Benson saved her life.
“I started crying, and I remember I started shaking,” Hargitay told Variety. “It just started spilling over. I could only hold so much. I had to do a lot of therapy to shore myself up from that.”
Peter Jankowski, the president and chief operating officer of “Law & Order” production company Wolf Entertainment, also praised Hargitay for her ability to portray this role, saying that it’s because she’s the same in real life.
“She brings the ability to listen like nobody else, and she can hear you,” Jankowski said. “Her character is a broken character who’s compelled to heal other broken people. She does it better than anybody, because in real life, that’s who she is.”
Ice-T Reveals How Mariska Hargitay Stepped Up After Christopher Meloni’s Departure From ‘Law & Order: SVU’
GettyIn 2011, Christopher Meloni left the show after 12 seasons, which threw Hargitay into a new leadership role.
“Chris was No. 1; Mariska was No. 2,” Ice-T, who’s appeared on the series since its second season, told Variety. “Chris had notes on every scene, and he was kind of in charge. When you have somebody like that on the set, everybody else is comfortable. ‘I’ll let you do it. Less work for me!’ When Chris left, Mariska took that spot.”
Hargitay added that it was a moment she wasn’t quite prepared for. She even did everything she could to get him to stay.
“I did not want him to leave. I tried so hard to broker that, because it didn’t end great with them,” she added.
