Mariska Hargitay is the longest-running actor in the Law & Order franchise and, at this point, she's arguably the face of the franchise. Having been a mainstay on SVU since it premiered in 1999 (and continues its run amid the 2026 TV schedule), it’s hard to imagine the show without her. Before locking down the role of Olivia Benson, though, Hargitay got some blunt advice, and I’m so glad she didn’t take it.
The newly-minted Broadway star has been open about what her life was like when she was first getting into acting and how a psychic even predicted her SVU fame before she got the role. The psychic is not the only one whom Hargitay saw, though. While speaking with Jamie Lee Curtis for Variety’s Actors on Actors segment, Hargitay recalled how her acting teacher at the time told her she needed to be on stage, and she became good friends with Oscar and Emmy-winning director Fisher Stevens as a result.
