Mariska Hargitay and Tony Goldwyn are dishing on the “Law & Order” and “SVU” crossover as both shows return for new seasons.
“Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi spoke with Mariska and Tony, who have portrayed some iconic TV characters.
They reflected on how special it is that people have connected so deeply to their characters.
Recalling a recent “profound” moment with a fan, Hargitay said, “The other day, somebody came up to me and told me that they were a victim of child sexual abuse and then she told me that she got closure today meeting me, and after our conversation, and it was almost too much to take in. It was such a beautiful moment because she was probably, you know, I don’t know, maybe 65 — so that was a gift.”
While Mariska is most known as Detective Olivia Benson, most people recognize Tony as Fitz from “Scandal.”
Over the years, many have shipped Fitz and Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington. Tony commented, “I’m always slightly shocked at the degree to which people are, you know, that us being on these shows or having relationships like Olivia and Fitz had, the way that it impacts people’s lives. The number of people that have come up to me and either said, ‘You don’t understand, I’ve had cancer and I went through chemo and ‘Scandal’ was the thing that got me through… You realize you have an impact on the work that we do, the stories that we are involved in telling has this impact… It’s an incredibly privileged job to be able to tell stories.”
Mariska and Tony have both been politically outspoken, and each is supporting Kamala Harris.
Another big name who recently endorsed Kamala is Taylor Swift.
Mariska praised Taylor, saying, “Taylor did it so beautifully… did it so effortlessly and so powerfully. Her message was, ‘Get yourself informed and vote,’ so she’s saying, ‘Learn about the issues, learn about the policies, learn and educate yourself, don’t listen to someone else, educate yourself and form your own opinions.’”
“There’s a lot to untangle with the information that’s out there and it is difficult for people, and it is very difficult for people to find out what the truth is,” Hargitay emphasized.
Tony shared his two cents, saying, “I have my views and my perspective and those come from trying to be as informed as I can but what I really advocate for is people to get engaged and involved and vote and participate in our system, whatever side you’re on.”
Goldwyn stressed the importance of people still being able to co-exist, even if they don’t agree on politics. He said, “The danger I see in what’s happening in our political culture in the past X number of years is the person on the other side is the enemy and I don’t feel that way. I have many friends who have different views than me and I love talking to them.”
Tony and Mariska have become “fast friends” after meeting “a few weeks ago” for the crossover episode.
Hargitay said, “We did have many mutual friends… It felt like we knew each other when we met… I had been hoping for this opportunity to work together.”
Mariska recalled working on the set of “Law & Order,” saying, “I don’t know, in my two or three days working with Hugh [Dancy] that he ever flubs a line which I wasn’t familiar with because I flub so many lines and then it becomes a shtick.”
Tony chimed in, "I made it easier for Mariska because I kept flubbing my lines."
He explained, "There was at the end of this kind of intense discussion, debate we were having, his character was Nolan Price and my last line of the scene was ‘Make the deal, Nolan.’ My name is Nick Baxter on the show, so I said, every time I'd be like, ‘Make the deal, Nick,’ and they would stop and go, ‘Uh, Tony, you’re Nick.’"
Mariska then took it upon herself to make shirts for the whole cast and crew that said, 'Make the deal, Nick.'"
"He couldn't stop it, and then it became a shtick," she recalled. "It was such a great ice breaker and I felt so comfortable, and I was like flattering myself going, 'Oh, he's nervous.'"
“Law & Order” and “SVU” are back October 3 on NBC.
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