Mariska Hargitay had ‘tough love’ from Law and Order SVU creator Dick Wolf behind camera

Mariska Hargitay has opened up on the dynamic between herself and Law and Order franchise creator Dick Wolf over their 25-year working relationship.

Mariska Hargitay has admitted to being on the other end of “tough love” from Law and Order SVU creator Dick Wolf.

Law and Order SVU has come a long way since it first made its debut in 1999, returning for its 25th season at the beginning of the year and already renewed for a 26th.

At the heart of it all is Captain Olivia Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay) who has been on the NBC series from the very beginning with fans able to see her personal and professional growth.

Behind the scenes, it has been creator Dick Wolf leading the way, having started on Law and Order in 1990 before introducing SVU nine years later.

While Hargitay is now an executive producer on the show, she did need to learn how to advocate herself, something which Wolf taught her to do.

“He’s said things to me that are almost paternal over the years, but tough”, Hargitay told Variety.

“When I say tough love, I mean, tough love. There’s no coddling…I can do hard things now.

“I don’t know that I was always like that. I think in the beginning of the show, I had to fake a lot of it. I was still learning it. Now I fit into these shoes.

“It’s been a magnificent journey. I have learned to advocate for myself, ironically, from Dick.”

It may not have always been easy with Wolf but the 60-year-old considers him as “family”.

“There’s a beautiful mutual respect. We’re extremely close, like family.

“He and I have had some gnarly negotiation. And I don’t think he’s had that with anyone else.”

And it looks like Hargitay and Wolf will be working together for a long time to come with Law and Order SVU’s future looking bright.

Earlier this year, SVU was given the green light for season 26 on NBC which is expected to debut later this year.

It was good news for the original legal drama Law and Order as well which will return for season 24.

However, it’s a different story for the Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) spin-off Organized Crime as even though it will be back for season five, it will now be shown on streaming service Peacock rather than NBC.