Mariska Hargitay Recalls Auditioning for Law & Order: SVU, Tells Dick Wolf to Send Another Actress Home

Published: June 25, 2025

Mariska Hargitay, the star of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU), recently looked back on her audition for the iconic role of Olivia Benson in a new interview.

Hargitay, who has played Olivia since 1999, remembered telling series creator Dick Wolf that another actress in the waiting room should "go home" because she was convinced the part was hers. She didn't know at the time that Wolf was a TV legend, having already found massive success with the original Law & Order series.

"I see another girl in the waiting room and I'm like, 'Oh no, this is not happening,'" Hargitay recalled. "So I walked in there and I said, 'Listen to me.' I didn't know that Dick Wolf was like, king of television. And I go, 'I don't know who that is out there, but let me tell you something. This is my part.'"

Hargitay said in retrospect that it's "so funny." "I didn't even know what overtook me, but I was so clear about it," she added. Ultimately, Wolf did cast her as Olivia, and SVU was the first Law & Order spin-off, with Hargitay's Olivia being the first female detective in the franchise.

Hargitay also recalled that the other actress in the waiting room was actually there for another part and ended up in the pilot. The two actresses became friends for life.

Hargitay reflected on her and Olivia's journey in a 2024 cover story for PEOPLE, celebrating SVU's 25th anniversary. "I was the second detective alongside Elliot Stabler. He was the male lead and a little more experienced, and I was trying to catch up," she remembered.

When Chris Meloni left the series after season 12, Olivia stepped in as the series' main lead. "In a way, it was a rebirth, and that was powerful and exciting and beautifully uncomfortable to reckon with one's own power," she said.

With season 25, which premiered in 2024, Olivia became the longest-running character on a primetime drama series, and the show became the longest-running drama series in TV history. In May, the show was renewed for its 27th season.

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