Mariska Hargitay appeared on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast and revealed that she auditioned and tested multiple times for “Friends” a few years before landing the role of Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Both shows are NBC staples.
“I did a lot of auditions for comedies,” Hargitay told Poehler (via The Daily Beast). “I did ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Single Guy,’ and I tested for ‘Friends’ a few times. I think for Monica. I always thought I’d end up on a sitcom or doing comedy.”
Even when more dramatic roles came his way, Hargitay said, “I was like, I want to do theater but it has to be funny because that’s what I felt like my gifts were… [I would tell people]’I’m going to become an actor because I’m funny and I’m pretty.’
Hargitay’s revelation might surprise some. The actor has played Olivia Benson on “SVU” for more than 25 years, making her the longest-running character in prime-time live television history. It wasn’t until Hargitay consulted a psychic that she faced the possibility that comedy might not work.
“I’m in Los Angeles, [a] struggling actor [wondering] what am I going to do? » said Hargitay. “I came to New York, which I did three times a year to see theater. And then I met this medium. Everyone said to me, “Oh my God, Mariska, you have to meet this medium. He’s incredible. … I went somewhere on Long Island to this man’s house and I went there and he started telling me all these amazing things.
“I was listening to him very attentively like that. He said to me… ‘Do you see that face you’re making right now? Do you see that face?’ I said, “Yeah. » He said, ‘You’re going to be famous for that face.’ You move to New York and you’re going to be famous for this face,'” Hargitay continued, noting that she still wanted to land a role on a network sitcom at the time. “I said, ‘Uh, no.’ I live in Los Angeles and I’m going to become an actor. Six months later, swear to God…I got ‘SVU’.
Watch Hargitay’s full interview on the “Good Hang” podcast in the video below.
