Meloni left the series after season 12 in 2012
Mariska Hargitay is opening up about her bond with Christopher Meloni.
Hargitay, 61, spoke about her relationship with her former costar on the June 25 episode of Call Her Daddy. “We are just connected,” she said of her friendship with Meloni, 64. “We are so close. It’s like we’ve been through the battle together. We know each other so well. We love each other so much. We respect each other so much.”
Hargitay said their connection was forged “living these stories” and “going so deep together” on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. They starred together as Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler — at the time both detectives — for the show’s first 12 seasons, from 1999 to 2011.
Hargitay said the pair of actors have “a very similar sense of humor” and a “shared perspective” that gives them “shorthand” with each other. “We are so comfortable with each other, we deeply trust each other … Whatever he needs, I will always be there for him, and that’s mutual. And we have grown together, we’ve known each other 27 years,” she said.
Podcast host Alex Cooper asked what it was like when Meloni left after season 12. “Obviously the entire world was just devastated,” she said.
“I was devastated. I was devastated,” Hargitay said. She didn’t know that Meloni was going to leave, either. “It happened very quickly, and it was surprising. It was over a negotiation. And I tried everything I could to fix it and change it,” she said. “He left. I was devastated.”
But, Hargitay said, there also was a bright side to him leaving. “It was awesome,” she said. “He was ready to go,” the actress explained, noting Meloni did “all these other great shows.”
And for Hargitay, bringing in new cast members meant “I got to meet some of my favorite humans.”
“It’s a magical place. It’s a magical place to work. Everyone is deeply, deeply invested,” she said of the series. “And my favorite thing of all of it is when guest stars come and say to me, ‘Is it always like this here?’ And I go, ‘Yep. It’s a team. It’s fun.’ ” Working together “so long” created “a real intimacy,” and Hargitay said, “I’m very close with my crew.”
Meloni’s Stabler returned to the world of SVU with season 22 in 2021 and has continued to make appearances on the series while starring in the spin-off Law & Order: Organized Crime, which has run for five seasons, beginning in 2021.
Cooper, 30, asked Hargitay one more burning question about the actors’ on-screen alter egos: will Olivia and Elliot ever end up together?
“Maybe on the last episode. I think that’s when they should be together,” Hargitay said. Cooper asked if the actress wanted that for them.
“If it’s right,” she said. “We’ll see when we get there. We are soulmates in a way. We are. And I think that. I mean, Chris has had a profound impact on my life, my artistry. I think we’ve had a big impact on each other. And so Olivia and Elliot are. But let’s see where the story takes us.”
