LAW & ORDER: SVU Star Mariska Hargitay Stops Filming to Help Lost Child

Published: April 19, 2024

LAW & ORDER: SVU Star Mariska Hargitay Stops Filming to Help Lost Child

By Movieguide® Contributor

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT star Mariska Hargitay is saving the day in real life.

While shooting SVU, Hargitay insisted they pause filming after a lost child approached her, thinking she was a real police officer.

A witness told PEOPLE, “The little girl had been separated from her mother in the Anne Loftus Playground in Fort Tryon Park and enlisted Hargitay for help. The actress obliged, halting production for 20 minutes to help the child locate her mother and to console them both.”

The witness even said the little girl was oblivious to all of the cameras and Hargitay’s partner, Ice T.

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT is in its 25th season.

“I have two diametrically opposed answers,” Hargitay told PEOPLE. “One is: I can’t believe it’s been 25 years, a quarter of a century! And the other is, I can’t see it any other way. I can’t imagine the show ending, and can’t imagine not going on this journey with my cast, my crew.”

“We’ve been on a parallel journey,” she added. “There’s a thing: WWOBD, ‘What would Olivia Benson do?’ The fans would always talk about it, and one day it hit me. I also have those moments where I’ve sort of slipped into her. If there’s a crisis, I just take over and lead like that. Being strong and fearless. It’s sort of this perfect feminist story.”

“I have so much to look forward to. And I’m still growing. I like that you can be so many things at one time. It’s learning to give yourself permission to be all of yourself,” Hargitay continued.

Hargitay’s partner, Ice T, revealed that his time on SVU was only supposed to be “a four-episode stint,” but 25 years later, he’s still going strong.

“I think SVU is a special show because it’s the first time I’ve ever done something where people walk up in the street and say thank you,” he told PEOPLE in a separate interview. “And I found out that SVU is as much entertainment as it is therapy for a lot of women because a lot of women that watch the show are survivors — guys too. So it has a different feeling versus just normal entertainment.”