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- Mariska Hargitay Demanded 'King of TV' Dick Wolf Tell Another Actress at "SVU" Audition to 'Go Home'</p>
<p>Victoria EdelJune 26, 2025 at 3:28 AM</p>
<p>Todd Williamson/NBC via Getty</p>
<p>Mariska Hargitay (left) and Dick Wolf in 2024</p>
<p>Mariska Hargitay reminisced about her audition for Law & Order: SVU in a new interview</p>
<p>The actress, who has played Olivia Benson on the series since 1999, remembered telling series creator Dick Wolf that another actress in the waiting room should 'go home' because it was her part</p>
<p>Hargitay also didn't know Wolf, who had found massive success with the original Law & Order, was 'the king of TV'</p>
<p>Mariska Hargitay's Law & Order: SVU tenure might be a dream, but it didn't start out that way.</p>
<p>Hargitay, who has starred on the long-running series as Olivia Benson since 1999, opened up about her original audition for the role in the June 25 episode of Call Her Daddy.</p>
<p>"So I read it and I said, and I never had this experience, 'I've never loved anything more. This is my show. This is the most progressive show I've ever seen. I love it. I need it. I have to do the show,' " the 61-year-old star told host Alex Cooper.</p>
<p>"And then I had the audition and then I got a call back and on the second callback, Dick Wolf was there," she said. Wolf had already found massive success with the first Law & Order series, which had already won him an Emmy, with seven nominations between 1992 to 1998.</p>
<p>Michael Parmelee/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty</p>
<p>Dick Wolf (left) and Mariska Hargitay on the set of 'Law & Order: SVU'</p>
<p>"I see another girl in the waiting room and I'm like, 'Oh no, this is not happening,' " Hargitay remembered. She took a bold action. "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.' "</p>
<p>"He's like, 'Oh, is it?' " Hargitay recalled. "And I said, 'Yeah. So you tell her to go home.' " Then she moved on to her audition. Wolf, 78, had notes for her. "I'm like, 'Those are good notes. Thank you.' And he's like, 'Oh, are they, are they good notes.' "</p>
<p>Hargitay said in retrospect it's "so funny." " I didn't even know what overtook me, but I was so clear about it," she said. Ultimately, Wolf did cast her as Olivia. SVU was the first Law & Order spin-off, and Hargitay's Olivia was the first female detective in the franchise.</p>
<p>"Then it turns out that the beautiful, talented actress that was in the waiting room was there for another part," Hargitay added of her imagined competition. "And she was in the pilot, and she's a fantastic actor, actress. I was like, 'Get her out of here.' And of course, you know, we're friends now for life."</p>
<p>Hargitay didn't land the part that day, though. "The next audition was for the network, and that's when I met Chris Meloni. And that was, the rest of history," she said. Meloni was ultimately cast as Elliot Stabler, Olivia's partner, and the duo were the centerpiece of the show for the first 12 seasons, from 1999 to 2012, when Meloni left.</p>
<p>Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images</p>
<p>Mariska Hargitay in 'Law & Order: SVU'</p>
<p>Hargitay reflected on her — and Olivia's — journey in a 2024 cover story for PEOPLE that celebrated 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.</p>
<p>— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.</p>
<p>"As I became more comfortable with the character, you saw this powerful woman emerge," she said. When 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>on People</p>
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