While Mariska Hargitay has carried televisionโs historic prime-time drama โLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitโ on her back for 26 years, she couldnโt have done it without the help of her self-described yin to her yang.
The โSVUโ star has portrayed Olivia Benson on the NBC drama since it premiered in 1999. Before her characterโs ascent from detective to captain, she spent many years fighting crime alongside her beloved partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, whoโs portrayed by Christopher Meloni.
โChris and I are polar opposites in terms of who we are as people. I mean, you canโt get two people who are more different,โ she said during a Sunday Sitdown with Sunday TODAY host Willie Geist that aired Jan. 12. โAnd yet,โ she continued, clapping her hands, โthere was this yin-yang. We just fit, and so everyone had talked about that very early on. So that wasnโt a surprise, because we knew it.โ
Mariska Hargitayโs โLaw & Order: SVUโ audition in 1999
Before Hargitay became Olivia Benson and rose to the peak of her fame, she had to secure her role through Dick Wolf.
Wolf is the creator of the โLaw & Orderโ franchise, and Hargitay describes him as โa visionary,โ as well as her friend and equal.
Hargitayโs connection to Wolf stems back to the late โ90s when she auditioned to play Olivia Benson not long after wrapping up a recurring role on โER.โ
โIt was very funny,โ she explained to Willie. โI walked in there and because after โERโ I said, โWhat am I โ what am I going to do? This is the greatest show ever. Thereโs no other show. Oh, except for โLaw & Order,โโ I said to myself. And I was making jokes, โI need to get on that โLaw & Order.โโโ
She said Wolf gave her โa couple of notes,โ and she later returned for another meeting with him, but this time, she saw a โstunning girl in the waiting room.โ
โI panicked,โ Hargitay said. โAnd I walked in, I go, โListen, I donโt know what youโre doing, but youโre a little confused: This is my role. This is my part. I am Olivia Benson.โ And (Wolf) was sort of laughing, I could tell, and I was like, โNo, no, you donโt understand.โโ
Her anxiety ended up being for nothing, as she later realized that โgorgeous girl that was in the lobby,โ Mili Avital โ who ended up guest-starring in multiple episodes of the show, including the pilot โ was actually reading for another part.
Mariska Hargitay meets Chris Meloni for the 1st time at the โSVUโ audition
Before the world was introduced to Benson and Stabler, there was Hargitay and Meloni.
โYou and Chris get in a room together, and Dick Wolf says, โThatโs it,โโ Willie said to Hargitay of their audition together.
โYeah. That is what happened,โ Hargitay answered.
โIt was a sort of once-in-a-lifetime experience,โ she said.
Hargitay explained that during one of her callbacks, three sets of actors and actresses were paired up.
โIn the room, when he walked in, I sort of sized him up, and I said, โThatโs the guy,โโ she recalled. โโThatโs the guy. That is the guy. That is the guy.โ It was so obvious to me that that was the guy, and apparently, he felt the same way.โ
Hargitay also noted she and Meloni are โlovers of comedy.โ
โSo, it was โ just felt meant to be,โ she added.
Early on, the two also recognized the unique gift of their connection.
โWe were like, โI know we have good chemistry,โโ she recalled. โEven at times when we were, like, fighting or had a difference of opinion, or things getting tense, we still had it. Itโs chemistry, right? And, we were just always very important people in each otherโs lives, and we knew it. We knew it from Minute 1. And weโre still very close, very close.โ ย
When Mariska Hargitay knew โSVUโ would be a success
The 26th season of โLaw & Order: SVUโ premiered in October 2024. Hargitay knew around the showโs second or third season in the early 2000s that it โhad somethingโ and was destined to be successful, thanks to her bond with Meloni.
โWell, I knew quickly that we had this kind of magical chemistry. I knew that, because I felt it, and we were so close so fast,โ she said. โAnd again, itโs that thing we talked about, of that thing that happens with somebody where youโre like, โWe are so different, and I know you, and I get it, all of it.โโ
Earlier in her conversation with Willie, Hargitay also said she believes Wolf โrespects his audience with intelligent writing.โ
โI think that weโre all fascinated between the complexities of the human condition, good vs. evil, justice. Itโs something we need. We need it,โ she explained. โHe has a legacy that I think will never be challenged, because he understands that part, and yet heโs such a businessman.โ
Hargitay also credits the dynamics of Benson and Stablerโs characters as part of the showโs โgenius.โ ย
โI think that the genius of the conception of my show was the architecture of the angry, protective father and the nurturing, loving, empathetic mother, right, between us,โ she said.
โIt was a perfect balance,โ she continued. โYou want him to fight and protect you, and you want me to hold you, to hold a space for those most tender feelings after weโve been violated. And you want, as we all want, to be seen. Probably one of the most important things, I think, in the human condition, that we all want to be seen.โ