Mariska Hargitay Recalls Auditioning for 'Law & Order: SVU' & Meeting Costar Christopher Meloni
Mariska Hargitay opened up about her experience auditioning for Law & Order: SVU.
The 60-year-old actress has been playing Olivia Benson on the hit series since 1999. During a new interview, she recalled what it was like going up for the part after wrapping a stint on ER.
She also spilled on meeting her costar Christopher Meloni during the process.
Keep reading to find out more…
“I walked in there and because after ER I said, ‘What am I — what am I going to do? This is the greatest show ever. There’s no other show. Oh, except for Law & Order,” she said about meeting with creator Dick Wolf during an interview with Today.
Mariska recalled getting “a couple notes” from Dick. “I remember going, ‘That was good. That’s good.’ And he was like, ‘Oh really? Is that — is it good? Is that a good note?’”
While the meeting went well, she recalled having a moment of nerves when she came back for another meeting and saw a “stunning girl in the waiting room.”
“I panicked,” she admitted. “And I walked in, I go, ‘Listen, I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re a little confused: This is my role. This is my part. I am Olivia Benson.’ And [Wolf] was sort of laughing, I could tell, and I was like, ‘No, no, you don’t understand.’”
She described meeting Christopher and hitting it off as “a sort of once-in-a-lifetime experience.”