How Mariska Hargitay Landed Her ‘SVU Role’ — And Nearly Lost It
Law & Order: SVU debuts its 27th season on September 25, 2025, at 9pm EST, with Mariska Hargitay once again leading the crew as Capt. Olivia Benson. Hargitay has been synonymous with iconic role for so long, it’s surprising to learn that initially, it wasn’t the kind of part she was looking to play — and that once she took the role, she almost lost it over a haircut.
Back in 1999, when her manager first called with the audition, he actually tried to talk her out of the role, she revealed in a 2024 SAG-AFTRA Foundation interview. “I got a script for you, but I don’t think you’re going to like it, it’s very dark,” he warned. At the time, Hargitay was chasing comedy and dramedy roles.
But as soon as she began reading the script — the show, at the time, was called Sex Crimes, not SVU — she realized that it was the opportunity she had been looking for. “I was like sold, done. I knew it was my part. I wanted it. I’d never loved anything more,” she told the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. She walked into that audition certain that Olivia Benson was hers, and that confidence set her apart. The producers were struck by the combination of empathy and toughness she brought to the room, and suddenly this actress known for lighter fare was the frontrunner to lead the spin-off of Law & Order.
NBC/Everett Collection
Once she was cast, Benson quickly became one of television’s most enduring characters. But just a couple of years later, Hargitay’s job was in jeopardy, and this time it had nothing to do with ratings or storylines— it was her hair.
In between seasons, she decided to chop it all off into a pixie cut. “My hairstylist had a glass of wine and I really should have known better,” Hargitay told Allure Magazine. “Maybe he’d thought I’d be aerodynamic when I was chasing perps. I have no idea. We went real short—shorter than anticipated. I almost got fired.”
Producers were stunned when she showed up on set at the start of Season 3. The drastic cut was very different from the Benson look audiences had grown attached to. For a moment there were real conversations about whether she could continue. Hargitay remembered them questioning whether Olivia Benson could be taken seriously with such a dramatic change in appearance. Losing it over a hairstyle would have been crushing. “It’s wild,” she later reflected to the New York Post. “This is beyond my wildest dreams. I could not have dreamt it.”
More than 25 years later, Hargitay is still at the center of SVU, having logged over 550 episodes. She is not just the lead anymore, she has become the heart of the show, and even its moral compass.
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