‘Law & Order SVU’: What Mariska Hargitay Felt About Kelli Giddish’s Exit
Law & Order SVU welcomed Kelli Giddish onto the team full-time in its thirteenth season. Giddish would remain on the show for over a decade until her recent departure in 2022. Her partner Mariska Hargitay was especially saddened by the news, as she developed a close bond with Giddish over the years.
How Kelli Giddish was different than Mariska Hargitay’s past partners
Hargitay had seen many Law & Order stars come and go over the years. She even outlasted the show’s original lead Chris Meloni, who left the series for a decade before returning in Organized Crime. Giddish was another co-star she had to say goodbye to after their long journey together. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Hargitay touched on what Giddish meant to her.
“Oh god, Kelli. I love Kelli, she’s my girl. She is one of my favourite actors that I’ve ever worked with and we got to build something really beautiful together and really earned together because our characters had quite a journey. It wasn’t so easy at the beginning and then we just fell into this beautiful safety, trust,” Hargitay said.
Hargitay further confided that Giddish’ Amanda Rollins offered a different partner dynamic than other partners in her past.
“That was a hard one. I will miss that because she was my go-to, my right hand, the woman that I could talk to,” she continued. “Olivia Benson’s out there taking care of everyone else and she was somebody that really took care of me and had my back. Even though Fin has my back and Stabler has my back, it’s different to have a woman have your back because it’s a different perspective.”
What Kelli Giddish thought about her final scenes with Mariska Hargitay
Giddish remained somewhat vague regarding her departure from Law & Order SVU. In an interview with Variety, her simple answer was that she felt it was time for her character to move on.
“My side of things is just that it’s time in the Rollins storyline. I felt like where it was heading, and where it headed last night, just seemed the right place to leave it right now,” Giddish said. “I am so excited about things going on in my personal life and kind of the mirroring of what’s going on in my personal life and in Rollins’, there’s a lot of joy to be experienced.”
Giddish also mentioned she’d done everything that she wanted to do in a role that lasted longer than she thought it would.
“I started playing her in my late 20s, so I’ve played her in three decades of my life, which is nuts,” Giddish said. “It’s insane. This is a show unlike any other. Shows don’t last 12 years, much less getting to play a character. With playing someone as multi-faceted as Rollins, I got to play all kinds of different things — down and out, on top, joyful, doubtful, scared, triumphant. I got to do the gambit.”
Given their relationship, it made sense that Giddish’ last scene would be with Hargitay. Giddish confided that it was an emotional and fitting sendoff.
“We had a ton of fun because acting with my girl is just fun. There’s so much trust there, and you can play because we know each other so well. Nothing is set in stone, and if you want to try something, the writers are right there because they trust Mariska and I to kind of fine-tune the words of the script. It’s so much fun, there’s so much laughter and there were so many tears. It was a really beautiful experience,” she said.
Kelli Giddish is set to return in season 25 of ‘Law & Order SVU’
Giddish hasn’t stayed away from SVU for long. It’s been confirmed that fans can expect her return in the 11th episode of the show’s upcoming 25th season. Hargitay took to social media to celebrate the news with fans.
“Back with my lil boo thang,” she wrote according to Yahoo.
