VOICEOVER: In the world of actor Law & Order roles are considered especially meaningful.
In New York City, the dedicated actors who take on these memorable parts are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit guest stars. These are their stories.
Well, my character...
I think my character beats your character.
My character was a lady of the night.
Oh, you too. I was a porn star.
[Laughing] I was a prostitute. So that was great.
That, honestly, was a dream come true because every New York actor wants to be on that show,
and it's like if you were on that show you felt like you made it in some sort
of weird way. You felt like you are a real actor and so even if it was small,
you know, whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. That was my line.
[Laughing]
You said it like that?
Oh no, I didn't say it like that.
I said "Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, baby."
Oh hey, whoa.
Makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it?
I actually did two [episodes].
At first I was an attorney with bad intentions and a son who was guilty who
I was trying to protect. I remember the experience being great. I also remember
doing a show not too long ago, and I don't want to go into too much detail,
but it was never aired because it was ripped from a headline that was,
shall we say, all of a sudden became political [laughing]
by virtue of the election. And then it never made it [laughing]
And I don't know that it ever will. Maybe it will, but anyway, it was fun to do.
I was a straight porn guy...
Oh wow.
But it was weird because
I had evidence of not doing straight porn.
I mean I don't know how PC, you know, with what the rating of this —
TV Guide?
— yeah, TV Guide is.
This will all be on the cutting room floor.
It was a, "Who done that?"
[Laughing]
"Who did that?"
"Who did that to you?"
And I wouldn't say 'cause I was protecting my daughter who had leukemia or something, I don't know.
Being a good father.
Thank god for comedy, huh?
And then I shortly after that, like a month later, I was a detective on NYPD Blue.
So, busting people like me on SVU.
I did, I did. [I played] two different characters.
I was like, "Guys, is it weird that I literally was on a different [episode]..."
And they're like, "No, they'll never recognize you. They'll never notice."
Well, I'll tell ya, I remember I was a pretty young actor, fairly green
and I played a — it was a big role and I had this one scene where I, you know,
had a gun to my head and I was gonna shoot myself and I was on drugs and I
remember the actor opposite me, Chris Meloni, it was his coverage,
he did a great job. And I remember then it was my coverage and he was really giving me
a lot of emotion, he was really working hard. And I remember saying to him,
"Hey man, thank you so much for, you know, giving me so much emotion off-camera and
he said, "I'm only as good as you are in the scene. If you're not good in the
scene it's not gonna work for me either." And I thought that was a really
interesting thing and I kind of took that and learned that it's important to
be there for another actor because you're only as
good as the first person opposite you.
Were you a good guy or a bad guy?
I was a good guy.
No, I was an attorney.
Oh, well.
[Laughing]
Sorry attorneys, that came out wrong. That came out way wrong.
I was kind of a
smarmy guy now that I remember correctly. I was an attorney dating one of the
other characters on that show. I had a great experience on that show.
I believe that Law & Order: SVU, along with Law & Order,
just only shot from 11:00 at night to 4:00 in the morning, so all my memories of
it our bleary-eyed people just wiped out.
I mean, I loved those
experiences because they definitely paid the bills.
I heard a story, I don't know if it's true,
about the original Law and Order with Jerry Orbach.
I was on that one.
You were?
Oh my god, I have to ask you questions. I'm obsessed with Jerry Orbach.
But if you didn't know your lines — right? I heard that —
'cause, you know, those guys are going through ten pages a day, and guest stars would come in,
and they'd be like, if you don't know your lines, hit the road.
What did you do on Law and Order: SVU?
I played two different characters.
Wait, in the same show? Or two different episodes?
Two different episodes.
They cast you twice in different roles?
They were running out of actors. I was the last one —
You were the last actor in New York who hasn't done the show.
We gotta do...well, him again.
So my son had been killed. Yeah, it wasn't a very happy story.
This is the story that I remember. It's me in the courtroom,
and I had kind of a long scene, and I learned it, kind of.
And I figured, you know what, I'll just tighten it up between
when I get make-up and hair and we got costume and wardrobe. I've got about an hour and a half
or something. So I'm in there doing a rehearsal. Chris Meloni is laying back
and he's reading the paper.
And they're like, "Chris we need you." And he's like, "Alright."
Bam. Delivers the line just like that.
And so [they're] like,
"We're gonna be ready in five" and I was like,
"I don't have all my lines..."
Then you start to panic.
Oh oh yeah. And I somehow I still was young enough
and had enough brain cells that I learned it like [super speed sound]
I brought it in and and did it, but I never never ever ever again did I make that mistake.
Assume that you could learn your lines in the makeup trailer.
That was a learning experience that stuck.
Yes, I guest starred on Law & Order: SVU. Thank you.
I never got one, I never got one.
Oh that's a shame, I had a great time.
I've was in New York for a couple years, too. I never got one.
That's too bad. I did.
What an amazing experience I mean like what an epic show, it's such an honor to
be a part of a show that carries that much weight and tradition and so many
rabid fans! Oh my gosh, when we were shooting there were so many fans on the
sidelines just like, "Oh my god, Ice-T!" And getting to work with Ice-T was amazing. I mean I grew
up, you know — we all idolized him hugely back in the day and
he's like a legend so doing scenes with him was a trip. I had to like, OK,
stay in the story, stay in the story. But he was so kind and so giving and
they all were and they worked so hard. It's a hard show and they pull it
out of you. They're like, you better show up ready to bring it.
Well what was your other character you did?
OK, so, another husband who's son was killed.
Twice?
Yeah I remember the differences speaking about this is
because I had a son. So first [role] I was a dad without having a son.
The second one I was a dad, but had a son.
And the difference as an actor — oh my gosh, the emotional connection was there.
And you were talking about the heart that opens.
This is the longest interview that you've ever —
OK, but my question is why have I never been invited on to SVU and you've done two.
Oh, well.
Probably because I've been working constantly. Never been out of work.
Clearly you've been out of work so much that you did one show twice.
Exactly right.
Oh my goodness, I played one of the more heinous characters I've ever played
on Special Victims Unit. I played a seemingly mild-mannered
academic — why is it always seemingly? — who was shipping teenage boys to himself
from western Africa. I had a big interrogation scene with
Chris Meloni, you know, throwing the chairs on the wall and taking it by the
throat. "Listen to me you little..." You know. Great stuff, great stuff.
I guest starred on the tenth season I believe. I remember SVU being a very great, great set.
Chris Meloni was on his way out and I don't think anyone could have thought that it
would go another ten years. And so here we are. Mariska Hargitay is like you know
she's just wonderful. How do you sustain a show for 20 years and
still find purpose? And I think she's done something that most people don't
even think about. A lot of actors always looking at the next thing,
what do they want to do, and I think she's a she's a great example of
really taking on something and really working to make the character as
wonderful as it can possibly be and just focusing on that and as a by-product has
created jobs for so many people in New York City and it's just gone on for so
long and I don't know when it's gonna end and I think they
can call their own shots.
I wasn't available to do it and I was so bummed
because Warren Leight, who's run that show off and on for years, I did a a
incredible play of his years ago so I never know I'm a huge fan of it...
Well then, this is a question for me.
[Laughing]
Were you a victim?
Oh yes. Oh Carol. Poor Carol. I was Carol. Carol was a
victim of an extreme sexual assault and watched as her fiance got murdered in front of her.
Oh boy.
Tragic! And then had to confront her assaultant. Assaultant? Assaulter?
We'll accept it.
The man who killed her —
Assailant?
Yeah, it was his final
scene and it turned out it was all a misunderstanding
because he loved her in high school and called her to ask her to prom
and left her voicemail and she
never responded and he called the wrong phone number so it was all for naught.
I did.
I feel like everyone has.
I played a reporter who maybe had a flirtatious relationship with Ice-T's character.
Yessss.
It was completely inappropriate.
EMILY: Oh my god that's amazing. I'm looking that up tonight.
Watching it on the plane later with you.
Oh, well, it's interesting. I played a mentally disabled character who was
accused of being a pedophiliac when he wasn't. And that was really a
compelling you know moment in my life because I felt a great responsibility to
portray that character right. So I went to hospitals and I spoke to
people who actually have mental illness and I get to hang
out with them a bit and I tried to bring authenticity to the role and it went
over well. I just remember doing that show and feeling good that I was able to do
something I don't normally do, stretch myself as an actor, and bring some
humanity to people whose stories are under under-told.
I played a girl who had
bipolar disorder and I killed someone on accident but I was not
medicated. And then it got even more layered because the reason I didn't take
my medicine was because there was a rock star who told me that medicine was wrong,
so there was layers. And so then it got into the question of like why do rock stars
keep telling people like not to do things or do things or whatever and it's
like... whoa! But by the end the episode you're left with a lot of questions and answers.
I'm watching that after hers. That's great.
I absolutely loved doing SVU. I mean, first of all, Mariska
and I have known each other for 30 years, something like that. I mean we met first
in the late 80s and I was a huge — still am a huge fan of that show.
The one story I do remember — I just had dinner with my daughter Grace last night, who is now 21.
She was like nine at the time [and] I said, yeah, I'm going to New York,
I'm gonna be on SVU. She goes, "Can i watch it?" I said, "We don't let you watch that
show anyway." She looks at me and she says, "Are you the bad guy?" I said, "Yes I'm the bad guy."
"Do you kill people?" I said, "Yes I kill people."
She goes, "I've seen you kill people." And I said, "Not like this." Yeah he was disgusting.
He deserved what he got. Oh yeah, yeah, he was terrible.
I'm scared to watch it.
He was really terrible.
So I lived in New York
for 13 years and I got my SVU credit right before I moved to LA and I was
like, yes I'm finally official! I got my credit! And I always — my episode replays
frequently and every time I catch it I just feel so bad for her. She's so sad.
She was kept in a cage in the basement for like ten years and, oh, she's just
really sad, she was sad. I rejoiced that she was able to get out of her circumstance but
she breaks my heart every time.
Did you?
No, I've never been on it, but I could use a job so...if you could reach out to my agent.
Yo, SVU, how you doin?
Can I talk to you? Hey. I'm right here. I ain't done you yet.
How you doin, boo?