Mariska Hargitay Says She Doesn’t Need ‘Law & Order SVU’ Anymore
Law & Order SVU has changed many lives, including its star Mariska Hargitay. It not only helped launch Hargitay’s career, but it proved she was capable of anchoring the show herself after Chris Meloni left. Nowadays, however, Hargitay has become such a star that it’s possible SVU needs her more than she needs the show.
Mariska Hargitay reveals why she keeps coming back to ‘Law & Order’ even though she doesn’t have to
Hargitay knew SVU was special when she first heard about the show’s premise. However, even back then, she might not have realized just how much the series would mean to her down the line. The show arrived right as her career was beginning to gain momentum. But her interest in the show might’ve surprised her team at the time, who thought she would gravitate to more lighthearted material.
“My manager goes, ‘Dick Wolf has a new show. It’s a spinoff, but I don’t know if it’s going to be up your alley — it’s very dark,’” she recalled in an interview with Variety. I read it, and I just remember going, ‘This is my show.’”
Decades later, SVU did become Hargitay’s show. Although she initially debuted with Meloni, she anchored the series with a new cast when she lost her onscreen partner. Some doubt Hargitay would be able to lead the series on her own. But Hargitay and Olivia Benson proved the skeptics wrong and ushered in a new era of SVU. Hargitay noticed the parallels between her and Benson’s ascension over the years. As high as both have climbed, Hargitay still feels she can climb higher.
“[25 seasons] has given us this very unique opportunity to do something unprecedented,” she told Hemisphere (via NBC News). “It’s the longest-running show in history, and it’s not by accident that Benson’s progression mirrors the exact evolution of women in broader society. She’s kind of the greatest feminist character ever, in that way… She rose up through the ranks, became a leader, and now captain — all while being a mother. Let’s see how far we can take it, you know?”
What might truly demonstrate Hargitay’s love for SVU is that she keeps returning to the series even though she doesn’t have to. She’s made enough money to last her and her family for generations and has other projects she’s interested in pursuing. In an interview with Town & Country, she noted that she’s impressed some of her co-stars by maintaining her passion for SVU.
“I’m like, ‘Sweetheart, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t still invested,’” she said. “I don’t need to be here. I have a lot of other things going on. But I love this place, and I love this job.”
Mariska Hargitay feels the world needs Olivia Benson
Hargitay’s Olivia Benson has become more than a character for an actor to play. You could argue that she’s become a bit of a symbol. She helped inspire viewers around the country to come forward with their own stories of domestic abuse. Benson has even inspired Hargitay to take action in real life by starting her Joyful Heart Foundation dedicated to helping those victims.
“She’s America’s sexual-violence detective. She and Chris, as Benson and Stabler, reshaped the way America thinks about sex crimes. As a result, Mariska has turned into the only true female icon on broadcast television,” franchise creator Dick Wolf said.
Perhaps Hargitay recognizes Benson’s significance more than anyone. The character’s iconography might play a major part in her refusing to let the series go anytime soon.
“The world and the culture needed an Olivia Benson, needed somebody to talk about these things and fight for survivors and believe victims,” she said. “The inception of the show was so genius that way because Olivia was the loving mother that we all want and Stabler was the angry, protective father. It was this beautiful, perfect construct of what an injured soul needed.”
