Mariska Hargitay has go-to advice for theater actors who show up on the set of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” for the first time: Though you’re used to playing to the back of the house, a TV camera can read your soul up close. “All you have to do is be clear with your intention and your thought. I’m telling you, it’s that simple: Be present. Listen.”
That’s easier said than done. It’s a hectic day on the New York City set of Dick Wolf’s long-running crime drama, which is filming its 26th season (that’s right—two-six), premiering Oct. 3 on NBC. Still, Hargitay finds time to step away and chat with me over Zoom. Distractions persist—the ambient noise of the city, an unexpected knock on the door. When she gets called back to set, it splits our interview into two parts.
But as we dig into her one-of-a-kind career and the craft that’s made it possible, you’d never know there was a world outside. She listens intently to my questions, eyes focused, nodding, head cocked. The actor is present.
Ever since “SVU” debuted in 1999, Hargitay has starred as Olivia Benson, a driven NYPD officer for whom sexual predators are prey. After 25 seasons and 551 episodes, Benson is now the longest-running character in the history of primetime drama. The actor, who earned an Emmy for the role in 2006, says there’s a freedom in playing one character for a quarter of a century: “I don’t have to prove who Olivia Benson is. We know who she is.”
That longevity has made Hargitay the dean of the small screen. She’s explored the art of television performance in a way no one has before—or maybe ever will again. Staying in the moment isn’t just about performing on camera; it’s the thesis of her life’s work.
Her studies started early and went deep. As the daughter of midcentury starlet Jayne Mansfield and bodybuilder-actor Mickey Hargitay, performing is in her blood. She caught the theater bug as a teenager when she began acting in productions at Marymount High School in Los Angeles; the experience made her realize just how much she loved telling stories onstage. After graduating in 1982, she went on to study theater at UCLA. She gushes about her time there, when she learned about aspects of production ranging from lighting to set design to sound.
“The advice I give most to young people: Study Meisner. That is such a foundation. We can’t be a conduit for the scene without being present and really learning how to listen and answer.”
Hargitay made her film debut in Luca Bercovici’s 1984 horror flick “Ghoulies.” That same year, she starred in the music video for Ronnie Milsap’s “She Loves My Car”—one of the first country videos ever shown on MTV. When she started booking more work, she decided to leave UCLA before completing her degree.
A two-year stint at L.A.’s Baron Brown Studio introduced her to Meisner technique, which taught her to be still, listen, and focus on her scene partners. According to Sanford Meisner’s philosophy, once an actor knows their lines inside and out, they’re able to be truly present, which leads to an ineffable magic. These lessons remain the biggest influence on her craft.
“That’s probably the advice I give most to young people: Study Meisner,” Hargitay says. “That is such a foundation. We can’t be a conduit for the scene without being present and really learning how to listen and answer.”
Over the years, Hargitay studied with renowned acting coaches like José Quintero and Larry Moss, in addition to attending the Groundlings School, the training wing of the famed improv troupe. It was a far cry, to say the least, from the crime drama that would come to define her career; but improv proved to be an invaluable complement to those lessons in presence.
“The Groundlings was such an incredible experience for me, because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” she says. “You are just flying in the wind and trusting your brain and unconscious mind, and just saying, ‘Yes, and….’ ”
Hargitay thinks about staying present whenever she asks “SVU” directors to run scenes multiple times; that way, she can experiment with variations on her performance without pausing for cuts between shots. “I use an amalgamation of all the things I’ve learned, depending on what the scene requires,” she says. “Every [technique] that I’ve learned has built on one another, and every style has only enhanced the other things and made me go deeper.”
Starting in the late 1980s, the actor began popping up all over the small screen. From “Baywatch” to “Seinfeld,” her guest spot résumé reads like a tour of the era’s must-see TV. She was a cast member on short-lived shows like “Downtown” and “Can’t Hurry Love”; she also had a recurring role on 13 episodes of “ER” as desk clerk Cynthia Hooper.
Then, she landed on the TV tenure track.
“Law & Order: SVU” premiered on Sept. 20, 1999—the first of many spinoffs of Wolf’s popular procedural. Hargitay’s Benson began as the empathetic junior partner of Christopher Meloni’s forceful Elliot Stabler. As the opening narration tells us, their unit investigates “especially heinous sexually based offenses.”
“It’s almost Pavlovian. Now, when I start to put on my [Benson] outfit, I feel a different posture, a different gait, a different facial expression, a certain walk with purpose and authority.”
Looking back from a 25-year distance, it’s remarkable how fully formed Benson feels on the pilot episode, “Payback.” She’s reprimanded by her commanding officer when her passion for justice drives her to get a little too close to the grisly murder of a rapist at the hands of his past victims. We also learn about a crucial part of Benson’s motivations: She was conceived as the result of a rape committed against her mother.
Before long, viewers began sending Hargitay candid letters sharing their own stories of sexual assault and abuse. In response, she launched the Joyful Heart Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for survivors of sexual violence, in 2004. While undergoing 40 hours of training to become a rape crisis counselor, she learned that it’s vital to listen and mirror the other person’s feelings back at them. This, too, involves staying present.
“SVU” outlived the first run of “Law & Order,” which ended in 2010. A year later, Meloni departed the series after 12 seasons. Of the original main cast, only Hargitay remains. As time went on, Benson rose up through the ranks, eventually being promoted to commanding officer of her unit.
Becoming the undeniable face of “SVU” has transformed the actor into a cultural icon. In 2019, she parodied the character in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch; Taylor Swift, a longtime friend of Hargitay’s, named her cat Olivia Benson; and last month, one of her costumes was added to
the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s collections.
While most TV actors would be blessed to book a show with even a five-season run, Hargitay has been able to develop her character for longer than it takes a baby to grow into a college graduate. These days, Benson fits her like a glove. “It’s almost Pavlovian. Now, when I start to put on my outfit, I feel a different posture, a different gait, a different facial expression, a certain walk with purpose and authority,” she says.
However, the work still challenges her as an actor. She credits the “SVU” writer with consistently dreaming up creative plotlines for Benson, such as adopting a son and becoming her former peers’ boss. These developments have allowed Hargitay to explore how the character reacts to new responsibilities.
Even though certain storylines can feel like déjà vu for the actor, she still encounters hard scenes that she says leave her thinking, “Oh, I don’t know what to do.” But her goal remains the same: to always find a fresh way into the plot. “That’s what stretches me, and that’s what makes me better.”
This mindset pushes her to build chemistry with every performer she interacts with. Some SVU officers came and went within a couple seasons; others, like Ice-T’s Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, stuck around long enough for Hargitay to establish a nuanced dynamic with him. She and
Meloni (who returned to the “Law & Order” universe in 2021) built up decades’ worth of sexual tension between their characters—which, much to fans’ dismay, remains unresolved.
True to the franchise’s procedural style, “SVU” features a never-ending parade of guest stars, ranging from up-and-comers to seasoned character actors and A-listers. “It’s like acting class every day—the good and the bad,” she says.
After half a century of sharing a life, it’s sometimes unclear where Hargitay ends and Benson begins. For example, the actor is a self-professed scaredy-cat. Public bathrooms at night? Strange noises in her house? These are things that make her ask, “What would Olivia Benson do?”
But Hargitay believes that both she and her character have grown into themselves. Benson’s arc is “a perfect feminist story.” She’s “filled out her shoes,” as the actor puts it, as she’s become more comfortable in a position of authority. It parallels Hargitay’s own journey from second-billed actor to star, executive producer, and director—not to mention her role as a public activist.
“I think the most important thing that I’ve learned is to trust in stillness,” she says. “It’s really hard for actors to trust that they’re enough or that they’re doing enough.”
After every scene, she looks to her internal compass and asks herself, “Was I present? Was I focused? Was I thinking the right thoughts? Was I in my truth? That is the difference between honing and knowing your own instrument.”
Above all, she relies on collaboration with her costars. “It’s very beautiful to be part of an acting team, because you think it’s a solo thing, but it’s not,” she explains. “It’s a complete melding of the actors.”
But no matter whom she’s sharing a scene with, Hargitay stays—you guessed it—present. “I love helping young, new actors,” she says. “Every time, I feel like I’m helping my young self.”
This story originally appeared in the Oct. 3 issue of Backstage Magazine.