The 62-year-old actress has played Captain Olivia Benson since the series premiered in 1999
Mariska Hargitay reportedly earns nearly $850,000 per episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, according to Variety, as the long-running NBC drama celebrates its 600th episode.
The 62-year-old actress has played Captain Olivia Benson since the series premiered in 1999. Her salary reflects her position as the show’s lead star and executive producer, with Hargitay heading the cast for more than a decade.
Her co-star Christopher Meloni, who played Detective Elliot Stabler, left the series as a regular cast member in 2011 after 12 seasons.
He is returning as a guest star for the milestone episode, which focuses on Benson’s personal life and her relationship with Stabler.
Speaking to Variety about the storyline, Hargitay said: “It’s about a woman having her voice and being submissive or subservient in a way, or giving up our power or our instinct, and that’s an important story to tell.”
She added: “Because so many women identify with that.”
Reflecting on Benson and Stabler’s complicated connection, the actress said: “Every relationship is fraught. Every relationship has power dynamics, and will they/won’t they, and what could have been and what isn’t and why, and could they and can’t they, and the complexity of all that.”
Hargitay also celebrated the 600-episode milestone with Meloni, creator Dick Wolf and the cast and crew. She described the gathering as “one of the most extraordinary, meaningful nights, and unexpectedly so to me”.
Beyond television, Hargitay founded the Joyful Heart Foundation, which works to change the conversation around sexual assault.
Law & Order: SVU airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9pm ET.
