Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T reflect on 25 years of Law & Order: SVU

Where there’s Benson, there’s backup. Enter, Fin Tutuola (literally). 

Actor and Grammy winner Ice-T walks onto the set of EW’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit cover shoot in a suit and bow tie that would make his character Fin, famous for his Gucci quarter zips and Adidas sneakers, laugh. He settles into his interrogation room seat — on the opposite side of the table from where he’s used to asking the questions on SVU — and quietly settles in, waiting for his teammate. 

You hear her voice before you see her — it’s always that way — and when Mariska Hargitay strides across the set looking absolutely nothing like Olivia Benson with her fitted blazers and sensible slacks, instead channeling a Hollywood bombshell and criminal mob mastermind, Ice-T is the only one who dares speak (read: he actually couldn’t be less fazed). 

“We’re gonna be handcuffed together,” he tells her as she sits down next to him. 

The 8-time Emmy nominee (and 2006 winner) laughs, amused to no end by the creative bravado. She flashes a dazzling TV-star smile before pulling her bright red lips into a smirk. “Just like in real life,” she says. 

The duo are perfectly in sync, in the way that only two people who have worked day in and day out with each other for a record-breaking 25 seasons could be. But, perhaps what’s more: They also clearly enjoy each other’s company. When the song “You Get What You Give” comes on over the speakers, they practically turn into a New Radicals cover band, singing the chorus in unison and closing their eyes at the same time to hit the high note. Despite the costumes that make them look like they’ve been plucked right out of an Agatha Christie novel, they’re not playing any roles other than themselves. 

Hargitay and Ice-T function practically the exact same way as Benson and Tutuola. She leads and he doesn’t follow — he parries and protects. Not because she needs saving, but because even the hero needs somebody in her corner. Hargitay calls the shots, and Ice-T makes damn sure everybody hears her. Even in photos, the two stand back to back. It’s symbolic, whether they recognize it or not. Life can’t seem to help but imitate art after a quarter of a century on TV’s longest running primetime drama.

As EW takes the pair down memory lane to celebrate and reminisce about some of SVU’s most pivotal moments, Ice-T also makes Hargitay laugh, even (or especially) as she cries, because, well, that’s what friends are for. 

It turns out, these really are their stories. 

A story of partnership

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What do you remember of meeting each other for the first time?

MARISKA HARGITAY: I remember thinking he wasn't anything like what I had imagined, or anticipated, or sort of projected on him. Because I was like, "Oh, God. He's this rapper with this reputation." And then I met him, and he was just gentle and kind, and my first impression of him was who he turned out to be.

ICE-T: It was interesting, because I only came on for four episodes, so I didn't know how long I was going to have to be around the people. You're walking into a room full of people you don't really know. I didn't know Chris [Meloni], I didn't know Mariska, so I was just trying to be good. But it was difficult, because they had written a character for me. I was wearing suits. There was a backstory that was strange. And once they decided to keep me on the show, Dick Wolf ripped away that backstory. He told me, "Ice, you're not fond of cops, are you, in real life?" I'm like, "Well, I used to break the law." [In 1992, Ice-T penned and performed the song “Cop Killer” with his band Body Count. While the song was met with heavy criticism from politicians, Ice-T maintained the track was a “protest record.”]  He said, "But you admit we need cops." I'm like, "Yeah." He said, "Play the cop we need." And that was it. Fin was born. 

HARGITAY: Let me ask you something. When did we meet, what do you remember? You didn't really answer that question.

ICE-T: I just thought you were dope.

HARGITAY: But when did we meet?

ICE-T:  I don't know. I just thought you was fine. I thought, "She's a nice-looking lady. What's happening? Okay, cool." I was like, "Yo, she's fly." 

Since joining SVU in 2000, Ice-T has become the longest-running male actor on a primetime television series. Hargitay is the longest-running actor on a primetime series, period. She lights up while watching a clip from season 1 as she’s met with herself on screen, 25 years ago. “It’s so different,” she whispers as the footage of her as Olivia Benson and Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler rolls on. She smiles, almost shyly. 

Tell me what’s so different. 

HARGITAY: Well, we're so young, and it's got a cute vibe. It's so sweet and innocent, and I love that. If you gave us that same scene and we did it now, it would be oh so different. But I love looking at the beginning, so we can really sit in appreciation of the evolution of these characters. And the evolution — especially of Olivia Benson, and the maturity, and this woman growing into her power. It's beautiful.

ICE-T: You know what I notice? It had nothing to do with the crime. And very rarely do we now shoot any scenes that have anything to do other than with the case. That was about you guys. I guess they were building the characters, so people could understand who you were.

HARGITAY: They were building our relationship.

Stabler is famous for saying early on, "I'm your partner, for better or worse." Do you think that's something that still rings true between your characters — this notion of partnership? How important is being a partner?

HARGITAY: It's everything. It's loyalty and protection. That's the theme.

Though Fin and Olivia have never officially been paired up as partners, they’ve always been a de facto team. Together, they’re brimming with humor — and honesty. In a clip from season 12,  Stabler heads off on assignment, leaving Fin and Olivia to work a case, and Stabler remarks to Benson on a Skype call: “Well, Fin may have your six, but he's definitely not me.” Fin is quick to put Stabler in his place. “No, I'm better. I actually watch her back and not her backside,” he remarks. “OOOH!” Hargitay says as they watch the scene now. Ice-T can’t help but chuckle at his own delivery. 

What do you think separates Olivia's relationship with Fin from her relationship with Stabler?

ICE-T: I don't flirt with her. Let's just start there. It's more just like, I have her back. That's my job. She's the boss, and I'm shotgun, and nobody messes with her. So it's never been that type of energy. 

HARGITAY: Ice said it perfectly. There's always been such a purity to it. 

ICE-T: Two different energies.

HARGITAY: Two different energies.

A story of heartbreak (and healing)

After the first 12 seasons of the show, Christopher Meloni made a shocking exit from the series after contract negotiations suddenly broke down. His last episode turned out to be the finale of season 12 in 2011, which ended on a cliffhanger after Stabler shot and killed a young girl who brought a loaded gun into the squad room and opened fire. “Oh — this is Chris’ last episode,” Hargitay breathes the instant the clip starts. “We didn't think this was going to be his last episode.”

Ice, season 13 saw a big change in cast dynamics. Did it feel like a different show to you?

ICE-T: Well, for me, you got to remember, I worked with Chris for 10, 11, 12 years. But at the same time, he wasn't my partner-partner. Now, as a friend, not having Chris on the set, of course, that's real dynamics. I was going to miss Chris. But as far as the show goes, now we don't know what's going to happen. See, people always ask us, "What's going on this year, season 25?" We don't know. 

HARGITAY: I know. [Laughs] 

ICE-T:  Mariska knows. She's a producer now. But I don't know. So when I get the script, I'm just looking at it making sure I didn't get shot and bleed out. But I don't know the arc of the season.

HARGITAY: He just wants to make sure he doesn't die.

ICE-T: I want to make sure I don't die. I got shot in this episode [in season 6], and as soon as I read it, I went like this, Mariska. [Ice-T pretends to frantically flip through an imaginary script in front of him, all the way to the end]. I was like... “Oh, wow... I'm alive!” So we just didn't know how the deck was going to get shuffled at this point. Mariska is now out there, she has no partner. Who's going to be her partner? 

How would you have approached the season 12 finale if you had known things were going to change?

HARGITAY: I probably couldn't have even filmed the episode. I say thank God we didn't know because we filmed it just like a regular episode. And nobody knew that things would break down over the summer before we started the new season. Everything would've been very different had we known. That beautiful pullback shot [at the end of the scene] was so dramatic that it actually felt a little bit like an ending. I don't know if I'm just projecting on that because I know it was the ending. 

ICE-T: For me, I never want to be on the bad end of a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger, the season ends with Ice getting carried off — that's not a good place to be. So Chris had just shot somebody, that's not where you want to be on a cliffhanger. But unfortunately, that was Chris' last show. 

Meloni’s exit was the first of many cast shakeups over the next 13 years, but it was still the first. The season 13 premiere served to cement Stabler’s sendoff, which meant somebody had to tell Olivia her partner was gone. As the costars watch Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) call Olivia into his office, Hargitay and Ice-T share a moment of laughter over Richard Belzer’s one-liner as Detective Munch. “Nice working with you,” Munch quips in the clip. Then, Hargitay’s face falls as she realizes what she’s watching. By the time the clip is over, and Cragen has told her that Stabler isn’t returning, Olivia is holding back tears. Hargitay’s fall freely. 

You’re crying. What just happened? 

HARGITAY: I just remember that. It was so hard. It was sad. Just brings me back. It was a hard adjustment because there was so much unknown. But for me, obviously working with somebody on such an intimate level for 12 years, we were just so close and we built this thing together. So it was going into uncharted territory. I think everyone felt a loss of a cast member, but not like I did, because it was an intense relationship. And to go like that, to have it end with no warning… it sort of deteriorated very quickly. 

ICE-T:  The show is Chris-Mariska, that's the show. Me and Belzer are the backup. Can the show stand alone? Now we’re losing one of our main characters. Will we survive? Can we morph into something that keeps the fans intrigued and watching? So there was doubt. But Mariska, for lack of a better word, manned up and took over the damn place. And now all of a sudden, now we got a captain. So it took a minute, but when you lose one of your main characters, there will be some doubt. And I think the fans were like, "Well, can this show continue?" But really, it caught another wind, and it became something else for another 12, 13 years.

HARGITAY: The silver lining in it, and there really was one, was it gave us an opportunity for the show to turn into something else, and we got to reinvent ourselves. We'd done something for 12 years beautifully. And then all this newness came, and we got Kelli Giddish [as Det. Amanda Rollins], which was such a gift, and we got Danny Pino [as Det. Nick Amaro]. And then off we were, the show was different. So for me, it was like I got to stay in the same place and I was on a new show. 

And I would say it took a couple years for the writers to find the new voice, and the actors to find the new voice, and for the show to find its new voice. And then it did. It was beautiful in the way that one chapter closed and another one opened. And it was exciting to create something new and to be open [so] that something could morph into something else. And I'm just so glad that it did. I look back and think, everything that we were scared of worked out and then some.

A story of history

A beloved comedian, Richard Belzer found a second act as Sgt. John Munch, from the show’s inception in 1999 through 2013. As the clip of what became his final appearance on the show in 2016 begins to play, Hargitay says, “Oh God, don’t make me cry. The greatest hits, but the greatest exits, which…” Ice-T jumps in. “Suck,” they say in unison. Still, seeing Belzer — who died in February 2023 at the age of 78 — on screen makes Ice-T chuckle. “God, I miss him,” says Hargitay. 

Ice, Richard Belzer always seems to have you laughing. Talk to me about working with him for so many of those early years.

ICE-T: Richard Belzer — one of the coolest people. I wasn't Mariska's partner, I was Belzer's partner. And Belzer laid it out for me. And having an OG like him? Come on, man. He said, "Man, I've been on Homicide. I've done this for a long time. This is a marathon. This is not a sprint. Just lay in the cut, do your thing. You're doing great." And Belzer told me, "The less notes they're giving you, the better you're doing." It was a beautiful work environment. SVU has, from the [moment] I came in... I've never been around something that was so simple to move so smoothly.

What did you learn from him? 

ICE-T: That there was somebody more irreverent than me. He was just mad cool. He just talked to me in my lingo, had a history of telling me stories about working with Jack Benny and Miles Davis, and the dude was just deep. He was in Scarface. So me and him clicked. He was just a dope person. When you come on a show like this, you need somebody to give you the ropes. And he knew the ropes. I had never done episodic drama like this, especially not for this amount of years. So I've taken over Belzer's place. When new people come in, I kind of give them the ropes, like Octavio [Pisano, who plays Det. Joe Velasco] or Kevin [Kane, who plays Det. Terry Bruno]. But I love Belzer, and when he passed, it hurt me dearly. I can't really think of anybody I've had in my life that was older than me that was able to give me wisdom like him. You can't forget a minute with Belzer.

HARGITAY: You can't forget a minute with Belzer. Again, he was such an original. I've never met anyone like him. And again, so funny, so dark, so irreverent, and yet so sensitive and soulful, and had such a big heart under the exterior. Just a beautiful man.

ICE-T: Definitely authentic.

HARGITAY: Very authentic.

ICE-T: Belzer was never anybody but him, right?

HARGITAY: Ever.

Another SVU mainstay, Dann Florek, portrayed Captain Donald Cragen for 15 years, until his character’s retirement. He announces his departure to everyone, all at once, in the middle of the squad room, and he thanks each of his detectives by name. Ice-T smiles watching Cragen thank Fin in the 2014 clip — the look on his face mirroring the exact one on screen. Hargitay wells up. “It’s so deep,” she says, wiping her eyes while she watches the footage. Ice-T is quick to the rescue with a joke. (“I’m there like, ‘Please don’t make Danny Pino chief!’” he hisses.) It works. As Cragen tells Olivia to “do something with the place,” Hargitay is laughing. “I got to start watching this show,” she quips. “It's so good!” 

Dann Florek originated the role of the captain on SVU, and now you have so beautifully stepped into it. What do you bring to Olivia as the captain? How do you play her as a leader?

HARGITAY: I think [Cragen] and I have very different styles. I think I lead like a woman. I think I lead with love, and with a maternal nature. I'm tough, but fair and protective.

ICE-T: I love the line from the other scene where Belzer said, "Nice working with you." Anytime you get called into the captain’s office, it's never usually good. His office was scarier to walk into than hers. 

HARGITAY: Yeah, very different vibe. [But Dann Florek is] so funny. You have no idea. So inappropriate. We laughed so much with him, and he’s such a brilliant actor. 

ICE-T:  People always ask me about all of our characters. I'm like, “Chris is pretty much like Chris. I'm pretty much like me. Dann is the exact opposite of what you see him play as the captain.” And Dann was our connection to the original Law & Order. That's the one little seed that connects with him. 

HARGITAY: This was another very painful exit for us because he had been there since the beginning. Obviously, he was the captain, so he informed so much of my character. I use this word "earned," but it's so rare when a character gets to actually grow, and have these things happen on screen, as opposed to off screen. But we actually watched this evolution, so everything is so much more meaningful. And the payoff is so huge because we've lived it. 

A spinoff story

In 2021, Christopher Meloni returned as Elliot Stabler — the “prodigal son,” as Hargitay still calls him, after the SVU season 22 episode titled “Return of the Prodigal Son.” That ninth episode of the season kicked off a franchise sister show, Organized Crime. As the big reunion clip rolls, Ice-T can’t help but narrate. “Chris is coming back. Is that Chris' wife?” he asks Hargitay. “Yeah, that’s Kathy Stabler [played by Isabelle Gillies]. This is Kathy’s death,” she says, eyes glued to the screen. 

You kicked off a whole new show with that one scene.

ICE-T: The whole time everybody was trying to get Mariska and Chris to hook up, Chris was a married man, so I thought the back plot of that was they were going to kill Chris' wife so they could hook up. I'm like, "Ooh, they going to wipe out wifey, and then they could hook up.” It didn't actually happen like that, but I was like, "Wow, that's cold. They killed the wife."

HARGITAY: Obviously, Ice watches the show like a fan. [Laughs] We're behind the scenes going, "What should we do? Should we do this? Should we do that?" And Ice was like —

ICE-T: I watch the show. When the show comes on, this is the thing people don't understand: We don't stop production to see the show. I'm only seeing the scenes I make. So when I watch the show, I'm watching it like a fan. I thought, “Why did they kill his wife? So there won't be anybody in the way of them two getting together. I'm sorry, Kathy. But this is how they make these stories connect.”

HARGITAY: Oh my God, Ice. The fans right now are just going to be so happy going, "Why won't they listen to Ice?" I'm just breathing through this.

ICE-T:  But y'all haven't hooked up yet at all? Close, right? Almost a kiss?

HARGITAY: No, just two times in season 4, [Laughs] No. We have not hooked up. There was that close call.

ICE-T: Kiss.

HARGITAY: Yes, there was a close call.

ICE-T: Did you kiss? Almost?

HARGITAY: Yes. Almost.

ICE-T: Okay. But you didn't?

HARGITAY: No.

He's a bigger fan than I am. 

ICE-T: Season 26!

HARGITAY: He is. He's a bigger fan than you are. 

Their story

Joking about what will happen when he leaves the show, Ice-T makes Hargitay jump in her seat. “What’d you say?” she asks. “When I leave, just turn the TV off. It's a wrap,” he replies before revealing a grin. “No, I'm not ever leaving. I'm staying. I'm with her for the rest of the way out.”. Hargitay relaxes as her costar continues: “People always ask, ‘What are you doing?’ I say, ‘I'm here with Mariska. That's it. When she's out of here, I will go on tour.” Hargitay laughs, agreeing in that case to be his backup. 

Over 25 years, what we've ended up with on screen is a woman in power who has a male best friend. That's a dynamic we don't always see on TV.

HARGITAY: It just happened naturally and organically. And I think that's also something that's so unique. We have had time to develop this relationship over the years. So it's true, it's organic, it's easy, and it's effortless.

ICE-T: In my life, I'm the boss of most of the stuff, [but] I have no problem riding shotgun. There's a power in being second, by being the shotgun, being the force. So I'm not in competition with Mariska. In reality, this is her television show. And on the show, I play her as the boss. So she's the boss, and I don't mind that. Because she needs somebody to hold her down. And sometimes that person is the second person, it's real.

HARGITAY: Ice, you are my protector.

ICE-T: You have the principal and the vice principal, and knowing how to play that position correctly makes it cool. But in real life, I always tell Mariska, “I have three women in my life.” Well, four. “I have my daughter, my wife, and my youngest daughter, and I have Mariska.” But I’ve made more money with Mariska. [Laughs] 

When you watch the show, all of us are important. Right now, Kelli might be on the screen — she kept us on the air. Danny Pino might be on the screen. He kept us on the air. It might be a scene with Peter Scanavino. It might be Chris, it might be Mariska, it might be my scene. We're all keeping each other on the air. And if we understand that as a team, we move forward. This is a team. And she's the boss. She's like a player, coach, producer, owner, it's heavy. All I gotta do is say my lines. She can do all that extra. I just show up and say my motherf---ing lines.

HARGITAY: And he does it well. [Laughs] 

When all is said and done, the duo remain seated for a moment, seemingly taking it all in. Hargitay concludes that the walk down memory lane has been “a gift. You really see these moments that have stitched together the shows, and how they play out now so beautifully.” Ice-T agrees. “It was fun. Trying to make us cry,” he jests, before admitting he “got choked up over the Belzer part.” Hargitay tells him she knows. Of course, she does. “I'm proud of it,” she says, owning the tears. Ice-T thinks for a moment, before recognizing the one thing that hasn’t changed in 25 years, no matter the cast exits or additions, character arcs, guest stars, or plot lines. 

“This is a show about us,” he says.

-------------

Directed by Kristen Harding & Alison Wild

Photographs by Obidigbo Nzeribe

DP: Cory Fraiman-Lott; 1st AC: Austin Smoak; Steadicam Op: Collin Welch; Gaffer: Jonathan Alvarado; BBE: Julian Tran; Key Grip: Dylan Kaplowitz; BBG: Nick Love; Color Correction: Carlos Flores/Forager; VFX: Ira Morris/finalbyte

Set Design: Lauren Alexander and Michael Akakpo/11th St. Workshop; Styling: Jared Depriest/The Only Agency; Styling Assistants: Sasha Leon, Courtney Blackwell; Tailor: Zarlacht Osmanzo; Hargitay’s Hair: Mia Santiago; Makeup: Jeanine Lobell/Home Agency; Manicure: Eri Handa/Home Agency; Ice T’s Hair: Shari Besanceney; Makeup: Alexandra Brock

Video Interview - DP: Zach Eisen; Camera Op: Jon Cortizo; Audio: Ethan Gustavson; Producer: Louis Leuci; Associate Producer + Editor: Morgan Sanguedolce; Interviewer: Alex Ross

EW Creative Team - Photo Director: Alison Wild; Head of Video: Kristen Harding; Creative Director: Chuck Kerr

Clothing Credits

(Interrogation Room)
Hargitay’s Suit: Christian Siriano; Cummerbund: Tie Bar; Earrings & Necklace: Jacob & Co.; Gloves: Commando; Corset: Victoria’s Secret; Shoes: Jimmy Choo; Ice T’s Tuxedo: Brooks Brothers; Shoes: Jimmy Choo; Ring: David Yurman; Glasses: Illesteva; Lapel Pin: Jacob & Co; Bow Tie: Shawn Christopher; Watch: Girard Perregaux

(Crime Board)
Hargitay’s Suit: Veronica Beard; Blouse: Roberto Cavalli; Shoes: Gianvito Rossi; Earrings, Rings: Ray Griffith; Ring: Chee Lee Designs; Watch: Jacob & Co.; Ice T’s Suit, Shirt: Kenneth Cole; Pocket Square: Tie Bar; Boots: Marc Nolan; Watch: Girard Perregaux

(Black Background)
Hargitay’s Top, Skirt, Belt: Zimmerman; Shoes: Sam Edelman; Earrings, Necklace: Ray Griffith; Ring: Chee Lee Designs; Ice T’s Suit: Brooks Brothers; Watch: Lang Antique; Jewelry: David Yurman; Shoes: Louboutin; Sunglasses: Louis Vuitton; Tie, Pocket Square: Tie Bar

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