‘Law & Order: SVU’: How Series Newcomer Jamie Gray Hyder Really Feels About Joining The Show

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is in the middle of a historic 21st season. One of the show's new detectives, Kat Tamin (portrayed by Jamie Gray Hyder), is also making history with the role. In a recent interview, Hyder talked about both taking on the new role and the character.

by Trey Mangum

Published on February 23, 2020

2 min read

The character of Kat Tamin so far

Though this is the character’s first season, Tamin has definitely made her mark on the series so far. The character is already historic in the fact that Hyder is portraying the series’ first main character of Middle Eastern heritage.

A former Vice officer, Tamin was eager to jump into the Special Victims Unit and has been a crucial part of a lot of the cases in the show’s 21st season.

Many fans of the show have reacted positively to the character, although many may feel like she is abrasive at times, but for the right reasons. In an interview with Page Six, Hyder talked about Tamin and joining the show.

On reactions to Kat, she said, “I think a lot of people are rubbed the wrong way by Kat, at least right now, because she is not so great at following the rules and staying within the structure.

She continued, “As an actor, the challenge becomes separating whether or not someone likes your character from whether or not you’re doing a good job because you can often feel like, ‘Oh, they don’t like Kat,’ and that might feel like a personal dig … so understanding that maybe some people not loving her is part of the process … and then as an actor you have to learn not to take that personally.”

Jamie Gray Hyder on joining ‘Law & Order: SVU’

Hyder says that in joining the show, her goal was “make sure that nothing moves any slower or felt any more complicated with myself added into the equation.”

She added, “I really wanted to make sure that I was prepared and that I was observant every day … And everyone here has been here longer than I have,” she said. “So really taking the time to step back and observe and not expect to feel like you’re at the same level as everybody right away, I think is a very healthy way to approach it.”