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In the middle of filming a scene opposite Ice-T, Hargitay was approached by a little girl who believed she was a real police officer. As it turned out, the girl had lost her way while playing at the Anne Loftus Playground in Fort Tryon Park and, completely unaware of the filming set she had walked onto, sought out Hargitay's help with finding her mom.
Hargitay did not hesitate and proceeded to pause film production for the next twenty minutes while she reunited the young girl with her mom and helped to calm both of them down, before going back to her TV role as Olivia Benson.
Fortunately, Olivia Benson scored a "case closed" and a "happily ever after" that day.
Jose Perez; Bauer-Griffin; GC Images
Needless to say, fans of Law and Order: SVU were impressed.
This entire incident happened while filming one of the last episodes of the show's 25th season. With production already in the works for its 26th season, the show stands to be the longest-running show of its kind in history.
Hargitay's character, Olivia Benson, is the longest-running character on a prime-time drama series, and her connection to the character has been obvious to the actress for a long time, not just on the day of this incident.
Hargitay reflected:
"We've been on a parallel journey. 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."
Surely, the young girl and her mother appreciated Hargitay stepping into her role as a cop, both literally and performatively.
With 25 years' experience in her pocket and "a lot to look forward to," we can only imagine where SVU will continue to go for Mariska Hargitay and what kind of happy ending Olivia Benson will experience.