Law and Order: SVU

Christopher Peter Meloni (born on April 2, 1961) is an American Emmy-nominated actor best known for his near opposite roles as the protective and committed Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Meloni is the surname of the Italian family who adopted his paternal grandfather (who may not have been born of Italian heritage). He is of French Canadian ancestry on his mother's side. Originally from Washington D.C., he attended St. Stephen's School (now St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he first studied acting, graduating with a degree in history in 1983.

After graduation, Meloni went to New York where he continued his studies with Sanford Meisner at the famed Neighborhood Playhouse. Meloni and his wife Doris Sherman Williams (a production designer) keep residences in New York and Los Angeles. They have two adopted children (via surrogate mother): daughter Sophia Eva Pietra (b. March 23, 2001), and son Dante Amadeo (b. January 2, 2004).

Meloni worked as a construction worker prior to getting his acting break. He has also worked as a bouncer, bartender, and personal trainer.
Meloni in the Law & Order: SVU intro as Detective Elliot Stabler.
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Meloni in the Law & Order: SVU intro as Detective Elliot Stabler.

Meloni worked his way up the acting ladder with short-lived TV series and bit parts in a number of films. His first noticeable role was as the hotheaded son of a Mafia Don in the 1996 lesbian thriller Bound. He also appeared as Julia Roberts' fiance in Runaway Bride. His first real moment of stardom came from his controversial role as bisexual sociopath Chris Keller in the HBO prison drama Oz. L&O Producer Dick Wolf, impressed by Meloni's acting abilities, signed him up for SVU in 1999, where he has remained ever since.

On July 6, 2006, Meloni was nominated for his first Emmy Award, in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, for his role as Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU.

* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit follows the same opening style of its parent Law & Order.

* SVU, like every other spinoff, uses a re-mixed version of the theme music from its parent show Law & Order.

* Prior to September 2001, SVU's opening sequence featured two separate shots of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. After September 11, the show's opening sequence changed, with generic city shots replacing the World Trade Center. The original shots can be seen in syndicated episodes.

* From the second season on, the franchise convention of the characters walking towards the camera at the end of the opening sequence was ditched and replaced by the cast gathered in front of a desk. This characteristic was symbolic of the large credited cast (8 members as of 2006).

* The photo in the opening credits for Dann Florek (from the beginning of the show) and Ice-T (starting with the second episode of season 2) have not changed since they first appeared on the show. The photo for Mariska Hargitay has changed four times (Season 1 has one photo, seasons 2-4 and the first four episodes of season 5 have another, the rest of season 5 has a third, and seasons 6-8 have a fourth). Christopher Meloni, Richard Belzer and B.D. Wong got new photos starting with the fifth episode of season 5 (coinciding with the debut of Diane Neal as ADA Casey Novak). Diane Neal had one photo for season five, a second for seasons 6 and 7, and a new photo for season 8. Tamara Tunie, who first appeared in the opening credits in season 7, has a new photo for season 8.

* This is one of seven series in which the character Detective John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, has appeared. Others include Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, The X-Files, The Beat, Law & Order: Trial by Jury and Arrested Development.

* Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe), Jesse L. Martin (Detective Ed Green), Fred Dalton Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch) and Leslie Hendrix (Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers) are the only actors to play the same character on all four Law & Order series (Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury).

* Two years prior to being hired for the show as ADA Casey Novak, Diane Neal played a woman on the show who is investigated by the detectives for raping a male stripper in the episode "Ridicule".

* Tamara Tunie also appeared as an attorney on the original series before being cast as Dr. Warner.

(Wikipedia)

Mariska Magdolina Hargitay (born January 23, 1964), ("MAH-rish-kah") is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning American actress best known for her role as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

She began her acting career by appearing on the television series Falcon Crest in 1987. She played a police officer in the short-lived 1992 series Tequila & Bonetti. She appeared during the fourth season of Seinfeld as one of the actors auditioning for Jerry.

She displayed her considerable comedic chops as sexy next-door neighbor Didi Edelstein in the short-lived 1995 sitcom Can't Hurry Love, a vehicle for Nancy McKeon.

Hargitay had a recurring role during the fourth season of ER, part of a story arc that lasted over a dozen episodes. The character she played was Cynthia Hooper. She has also appeared on the sitcom Ellen in an episode entitled 'The Mugging'.

In 2005 she lent her voice to the video game True Crime: New York City.

In 2006, Hargitay won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Hargitay is the fourth of Jayne Mansfield's five children. According to the biography Here They Are Jayne Mansfield by Raymond Strait, Mansfield stated that Mariska's biological father is actually Italian-American cabaret performer Nelson Sardelli. He was dating Mansfield at the time of Mariska's conception, and he claims to be her biological father. Mariska has never acknowledged Sardelli's claim, always considering Hargitay her father.

She learned her father's native language, Hungarian, but also speaks fluent French and Italian.

Hargitay graduated in 1987 from the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television[1] with a major in theatre. She is also an alumna of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

In April 2004, she announced her engagement to Special Victims Unit actor Peter Hermann. They were married on August 28, 2004, in California.

On November 30, 2005, Hargitay's publicist announced that she and Hermann are expecting their first child, a son, in early June 2006. Mariska stayed on SVU through most of her pregnacy. During the last few months of her pregnancy, Mariska took a maternity leave from SVU and was temporarily replaced by Connie Nielsen.

On June 28, 2006, Hargitay gave birth to her first child, August Miklos Friedrich Hermann, by caesarean section.

(Source: Wikipedia)

* George Huang's FBI badge number is 2317616, as told in the episode "Charisma." This is the same badge number as Agent Dana Scully of The X-Files.

* Mariska Hargitay's (Detective Olivia Benson) real-life father, Mickey Hargitay, appears in the episode "Control". He plays a man on an escalator, who is seen speaking to her character.

* Many actors previously starred on the HBO show Oz including Dean Winters and B.D. Wong. Chris Meloni (Detective Stabler) played a sadistic rapist and murderer on Oz, and now hunts them on SVU.

* SVU has surpassed, in both ratings and popularity, the original Law & Order television program. This is a rare occurrence in the television industry.

* Stephanie March reprised her role as Alexandra Cabot as a Bureau Chief in Dick Wolf's short-lived drama Conviction (2006), despite her character's entry into the Witness Protection Program on SVU.

* It is believed that the characters of Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler were named from creator Dick Wolf's three real life children: Olivia, Elliot and Sarina (the latter namesake of Olivia Benson's mother, seen in the series pilot, as well as Law & Order ADA Serena Southerlyn).

* Title theme for the UK terrestrial channel five version: "I'm Not Driving Anymore", the instrumental version from Rob Dougan's Furious Angels (Disc 2) [1]

* Mariska Hargitay keeps a photo of her mother, Jayne Mansfield, on her desk on the set.

* The precinct is sometimes referred to as "Manhattan SVU". This is not an error, as each borough (Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island) has its own SVU.

* A parody of SVU called "Law and Order: Special Letters Unit" aired on the first episode of the 37th Season of Sesame Street. It consisted of four puppets made to look like Benson, Munch, Stabler, and Cragen. The plot involved each of the detectives searching for a missing letter "M". Throughout the segment, Law & Order's distinctive "Chung-Chung" sound is parodied. [2] In a NBC.com blog, Dick Wolf stated that he appoved the parody, and hopes that Sesame Street continues the segment using the rest of the letters in the alphabet. [3]

* Mariska Hargitay is the first cast member from any member of the Law & Order franchise to win an Emmy (as well as a Golden Globe) for her role on the show.

(Source: Wikipedia)

The NYPD does have a real unit that investigates sex crimes, however it is known as the "Special Victims Squad" which are housed in various Patrol Boroughs like in Manhattan (similar to how L&O: SVU is depicted in the show).

In addition to the different name, the real Special Victims Squad only investigates the following types of cases:

* Any child under 13 years of age that is the victim of any sex crime or attempted sex crime by any person.

* Any child under 11 years of age who is the victim of abuse by a parent or person legally responsible for the care of the child.

* Any victim of Rape (all degrees) or Attempted Rape (all degrees)

* Any victim of Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees) or Attempted Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees)

* Victims of Aggravated Sexual Abuse (all degrees)

* Victims of Sexual Abuse 1st Degree

The Special Victims Squad does not investigate any murder, robbery or child pornography cases. Murders and robberies are investigated by precinct detective squads.

If a sex crime is involved, the Special Victims Squad may assist in the investigation. Child pornography is investigated by the NYPD Vice Enforcement Unit's Sexual Exploitation of Children Unit.

(Source: Wikipedia)