Mariska Hargitay might wear a fake badge for her Law & Order: Special Victims Unit role… but her heart is all cop.
During the shooting of one of the concluding episodes of season 25 of the iconic police series in New York City on April 10, a young girl approached Hargitay. It seems the child mistook her for an actual police officer due to the badge she sported for her character’s costume.
A source told People that over in Anne Loftus Playground at Fort Tryon Park, the young adventurer found herself on a solo mission away from her mom and ended up recruiting none other than Hargitay for her search party. The actress promptly stopped production for 20 minutes, dedicating her time to reuniting the child with her mother, offering comfort to both throughout the ordeal.
The young girl remained entirely unaware of the film crew and Ice-T, Hargitay’s scene partner, according to the witness. She was under the impression that Hargitay was an actual police officer on duty.
Hargitay, a mother to three children with her husband Peter Hermann, facilitated the reunion of the mother and daughter. She was also seen offering comfort to both. Of course, the touching moment found its way to X (formerly Twitter).
How Mariska Hargitay’s Husband Copes with Her On Screen Chemistry with Christopher Meloni
Hargitay has portrayed Benson since the Law & Order spin-off premiered in 1999. The NBC series is now the longest-running primetime live-action series in US TV history. Of course, one fan obsession is Mariska Hargitay’s chemistry with former SVU partner, Christopher Meloni.
Hargitay and Meloni met 25 years ago during auditions for Law & Order: SVU, starring together for 12 seasons. Despite Meloni’s departure in 2011, his return to Law & Order: Organized Crime sparks hope for a reunion of their characters, Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler.
Given Hargitay’s deep bond with her co-star and friend, one might wonder how her real-life husband, Peter Hermann views the close connection between the Law & Order stars.
“We make it work,” Hermann quipped to E! News in 2021. “Sometimes Chris and I have some things to negotiate but we’ve gotten really good at communicating with each other. There’s a lot of give and take. Kind of in the end all three of us are really happy.”
Meanwhile, Hargitay and Hermann will mark their 20th anniversary in August, and Meloni joined them from the start. The couple met on the SVU set, where Hermann was defense attorney Trevor Langan.