Ice-T Shared Why Mariska Hargitay is So Great to Work With in ‘Law & Order SVU’
Law & Order SVU star Ice-T hasn’t grown tired of working alongside Mariska Hargitay even after the pair being partners for over two decades. Not too long ago, Ice-T shared what he admired most about the SVU veteran.
What Ice-T and Mariska Hargitay had in common
Neither Ice-T nor Hargitay knew what to expect from each other when they first met. The music artist didn’t even think he’d be acting in SVU for too long, let alone for 25 years. So he had no clue that Hargitay would soon be like family to him.
“It was interesting, because I only came on for four episodes, so I didn’t know how long I was going to have to be around the people. You’re walking into a room full of people you don’t really know. I didn’t know Chris [Meloni, I didn’t know Mariska, so I was just trying to be good,” Ice-T once told Entertainment Weekly.
When Hargitay asked Ice-T what his first impression of her was, the rapper simply responded that he considered her nice to look at and be around.
“I just thought you was fine. I thought, ‘She’s a nice-looking lady. What’s happening? OK cool.’ I was like, ‘Yo, she’s fly,’” he said.
On the other hand, Hargitay was surprised by how well-mannered Ice-T was given his hip hop persona.
“I remember thinking he wasn’t anything like what I had imagined, or anticipated, or sort of projected on him. Because I was like, ‘Oh, God. He’s this rapper with this reputation.’ And then I met him, and he was just gentle and kind,” Hargitay said.
After working on the show for so long, Ice-T’s bond with Hargitay only grew stronger. The pair discovered they both had very similar approaches to their work which haven’t changed.
“One of the best things about working on this show is Mariska is not a b****…She does not come on set with a bad attitude, and she is always on point,” Ice-T told Page Six in a 2017 interview.
Hargitay had almost the exact same sentiments towards her co-star.
“I’ve never seen in 20 years this man come to work in a bad mood, not be grateful,” Hargitay said on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “Always ready to work, always ready, he’s never complained. I’ve never heard him complain!”
Ice-T revealed what most ‘SVU’ fans might find surprising about Mariska Hargitay
Ice-T was familiar enough with Hargitay to know that she and her SVU character weren’t exactly alike. Although they shared a few things in common, Olivia Benson and Hargitay seemed to have different senses to humor. The gravity of SVU’s stories allowed little opportunity for Benson to show off her lighter, more humorous side. Whereas Hargitay was much more fun to be around according to the rapper.
“I think when you watch her on television, she very rarely does anything funny on our show,” he said. “It’s always so serious.”
“I watch her on television and I’m like, ‘Wow, she’s dead serious,’ but behind the scenes she’s crazy. She’s fun to be with, nothing but jokes. Not even jokes we can tell on television,” he added.
Hargitay’s no stranger to comedy. When she was offered a chance to star in SVU all those years ago, her team actually thought she wouldn’t be interested. They believed she gravitated towards far more lighthearted material than SVU.
“My manager was worried because it was very dark and not up my alley, because I liked comedy. And I was like, ‘This is right up my alley.’ Never in my life had something been more known to me,” Hargitay said in an interview with Parade.
