Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - 2024

(TODD WILLIAMSON/NBC
Even after 25 years of working on Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay still has to check herself now and then.

“Sometimes I have to pinch myself because the life I live as an actor has surpassed my wildest dreams,” she admitted recently, speaking during a For Your Consideration discussion.

Hargitay, in a room full of ardent SVU fans, was in conversation with Emmy-winning actor Bradley Whitford, an actor who recently appeared on an episode of the series, directed by Hargitay, entitled “King of the Moon.”

About that particular experience Hargitay called the helming the episode, “one of the greatest experiences of my career.” She said Whitford’s performance was genius, and “he made me look so good.”

The two clearly enjoy each other’s company as they laughed, along with the audience, quite a bit during the event.

Whitford remarked that this level of levity wasn’t unlike being on the SVU set, which he said was a fun place, despite the dark subject matter.

Hargitay agreed, adding that, “because the subject matter is so dark and relentless and we are so immersed it, year after year telling story after story with material that so important, all of the cast members have this incredible and beautiful sense of humor. We have to laugh and get it out. [Then we] reset and jump back into the work.”

As she’s spoken about on several occasions, upon getting the role of Olivia Benson, Hargitay was shocked to learn about the statistics that show the prevalence of sexual assault, and about getting fan letters that, rather than simply asking for a photo, contained individual’s disclosures about their own personal, often violent, experiences.

This prompted Hargitay to start her Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004, which she says she founded as a way, “to change how our society responds to these issues, and to support survivors healing.” She added that the organization’s current priority is focused on eradicating the backlog of untested rape kits in the United States.

As for her ascension from actor to producer and director on SVU, Hargitay mentioned that she feels that it was a ‘natural evolution.’

She admits that in the beginning of her tenure, “Sometimes, I was completely overwhelmed, and I felt like a rookie and I didn’t know how to have any authority, I didn’t know if I was nailing the scene. There was a lot of things [I was uncomfortable about].”

Crediting former SVU co-star Christopher Meloni with helping her, Hargitay said, “I had a fantastic scene partner in [him]. He was a blast and funny and such a truth-seeker, and so deeply committed. He was intense in a great way.”

The duo, says Hargitay, would work with the guest stars and day players to make sure they felt secure. “All anyone needs is permission [to really bring it].”

To further her move into different areas of production, as her parents had always instructed her to do, Hargitay immersed herself in watching and learning on-set. “I paid attention. I learned everyone’s job,” she says, adding that in doing this she discovered that, “not all directors know when to push an actor off ‘a safe cliff.’ That’s all you want as an actor, is someone to tell you to give them more.”

This is when she realized that she could be a director because, “I said, ‘you know, I know how to push them off the edge to tell the story.’”

As for shaping a scene visually, Hargitay says that by watching so many directors, “my own vision started to come to the forefront. I’d read the scene and I’d figure out how I’d shoot it in my head, I’d watch them, and I’d learn something that they did.”

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - 2024

TODD WILLIAMSON/NBC
However, even with the dark topic, and actors often having to go to uncomfortable places to evoke needed emotions to service the narrative, Whitford can attest that the vibe on the set is one that regulars, guest stars, day players, background actors and crew find enjoyable, day in and day out.

This is because of the level of collaboration, explains Hargitay. “We have a ‘best idea wins’ mentality. [When I’m acting], I would say, ‘what if we do this,’ and the director can take it or not, and when I’m directing I would say, ‘tell me, is there something I’m missing?’”

This on-set atmosphere is important to Hargitay, as she says, “That’s probably the thing I’m most proud of — that guest stars come in and say, ‘is it always like this’ and I go, ‘it is. It’s a happy place to work..”

Reflecting on the over two decades that she’s been on SVU, Hargitay says, “The gift of 25 years is that in presenting this subject matter, we get to learn, and do it again every day.”

‘Law & Order: SVU’ airs on NBC, and all episodes are available for streaming on Peacock.