Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay have spent a lot of time together through their years co-starring on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit .
But when it came to identifying which scene of the hit police procedural was his favorite to shoot, there was one moment in particular that stuck out in Meloni’s mind.
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During a recent interview with Us Weekly , the 63-year-old actor recalled a scene in Season 7 that aired in April 2006. In the episode, Meloni’s character, who was then known as Senior Detective Elliot Stabler, and Hargitay’s Olivia Benson (who was at that time in the series a junior detective), were attempting to catch a sex offender who was on the run. When they caught up with the person they were pursuing, who was played by Lou Diamond Phillips , a tense moment between the three characters followed.
Related: Watch Benson Take a Distress Call in Heartbreaking 'Law & Order: SVU' Clip (Exclusive)
In the scene, Phillips “had a gun to my head, and Stabler told Benson to take the shot,” Meloni recalled. The high-tension moment made Meloni and Hargitay, as well as their characters, “bound to each other,” he explained. The extenuating circumstances for the actors—Hargitay was pregnant with her first child at the time they were filming the scene—gave the moment extra weight, Meloni added.
Meloni began starring on SVU when the show launched in 1999. He had a main role in the cast through the 12th season, and returned in a recurring capacity starting in Season 22. He also began starring in the spinoff series Law & Order: Organized Crime in 2021.
Earlier this year, the network announced that Organized Crime would be moving to Peacock for its fifth season . The new season did not yet have a premiere date at the time of writing.
SVU has meanwhile continued into its 26th season, with Hargitay still leading the cast. Season 26 premiered earlier this month on Oct. 3.
Next: Mariska Hargitay Hints at Potential 'SVU' Guest Star Role for Travis Kelce
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