Mariska Hargitay Nearly Quit 'SVU' in Season 25 Over Typecasting Fears

Q: What secret compromise finally convinced Mariska Hargitay to stay on SVU after reaching her creative breaking point?

It was not a single “secret” deal so much as a practical compromise: Hargitay stayed on *SVU* after gaining enough flexibility to do other creative work without quitting the show. By her own account, the breaking point came around Season 25, when she worried Olivia Benson had come to define her too completely and told Julianna Margulies she did not want to be seen as a “one-trick pony.” But Hargitay also said she was not truly ready to leave because she still loved the series. What changed was that she was able to expand beyond *SVU* while remaining in it. She said she made a movie during production, performed in a play during hiatus, and prepared to host the Emmys. That new room to pursue film, theater and other projects eased the frustration caused by the show’s long production schedule and made her feel less boxed in creatively. So the compromise that convinced her to stay was this: remain Olivia Benson, but no longer exclusively. Hargitay has said that once she could diversify her work instead of choosing between *SVU* and everything else, she stopped seriously thinking about leaving.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 24

Season 25 nearly became Mariska Hargitay’s exit point from “Law & Order: SVU,” she told Variety, saying she worried Olivia Benson had defined her career and made her look like a “one-trick pony.”
Julianna Margulies bluntly told her “that ship’s sailed,” and Hargitay said the show’s demanding schedule had long left her feeling creatively boxed in, especially as she wanted to do comedy and other formats.
Hargitay said she stayed because she still loved the series and has since found room for other work, including making a movie during production, doing a six-week play on hiatus and preparing to host next month’s Emmys.
Since 1999, Hargitay has anchored “SVU” as Olivia Benson; the series became the longest-running live-action TV show in 2019, and she said she is not thinking about leaving “anytime soon.”