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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Hope in the darkness.
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
  • First aired on 09/20/1999 (TV Show)
  • Crime / Drama / Mystery
  • 27 Seasons
  • Cast
Where to Watch
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Headshot of Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay

Character's name: "Olivia Benson"
Birthday: 01/23/1964
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Biography:
Mariska Hargitay (born January 23, 1964)  is an American actress, producer, director and activist, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe. The daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield and actor/bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, Hargitay is a former beauty queen who made her film debut in the 1985 horror-comedy film Ghoulies, and her major television debut in the 1986 adventure drama series, Downtown. She appeared in numerous roles in film and television shows throughout the late 1980s and 1990s before being cast as Olivia Benson, a role that led to her founding the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to women who have been sexually abused.

Headshot of Ice-T
Ice-T

Character's name: "Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola"
Birthday: 02/16/1958
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, USA
Biography:
Tracy Morrow (born February 16, 1958), better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American musician and actor. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and moved to district Crenshaw, Los Angeles, California when he was in the 7th grade. After graduating from high school he served in the United States Army for four years. He began his career as a rapper in the 1980s and was signed to Sire Records in 1987, when he released his debut album Rhyme Pays. The next year, he founded the record label Rhyme Syndicate Records (named after his collective of fellow hip hop artists called the Rhyme Syndicate) and released another album, Power. He co-founded the thrash metal band Body Count, which he introduced in his 1991 album O.G.: Original Gangster. Body Count released its self-titled debut album in 1992. Ice-T encountered controversy over his track "Cop Killer", which was perceived to glamorize killing police officers. Ice-T asked to be released from his contract with Warner Bros. Records, and his next solo album, Home Invasion was released later in the Fall of 1993 through Priority Records. Body Count's next album was released in 1994, and Ice-T released two more albums in the late 1990s. Since 2000, he has portrayed NYPD Detective Odafin Tutuola on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Headshot of Peter Scanavino
Peter Scanavino

Character's name: "Dominick 'Sonny' Carisi Jr."
Birthday: 02/29/1980
Birthplace: Denver, Colorado, USA
Biography:
Peter Scanavino (born February 29, 1980) is an American actor. Since 2005, Scanavino has had dozens of minor roles in films and on television, most notably Deception (2008), The Good Wife, and The Blacklist. In 2005, Scanavino guest-starred on the NBC crime-drama series Law & Order: Criminal Intent in the fifth-season episode "Diamond Dogs" as petty criminal Johnny Feist. He was also a guest on Law & Order as a suspect who was a graphic designer in the 2009 episode "Just A Girl in the World". In 2013, Scanavino guest-starred on the long-running NBC crime-drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in Season 14, Episode 13, "Monster's Legacy", as Johnny Dubcek. The same year, he starred in the independent romantic-comedy film Mutual Friends, directed by Matthew Watts. In 2014, Scanavino joined SVU in its sixteenth season, this time as Dominick Carisi Jr., nicknamed Sonny, a new SVU detective. Initially in a recurring capacity, Scanavino was promoted to the main cast in the fifth episode of the same season. According to SVU Executive Producer Warren Leight, Carisi "comes in and shakes things up" and is "a guy who maybe needs a little bit of refining." Scanavino noted that Carisi is "a total outsider. He's brusque and he doesn't really get the nuances and he's not very experienced so he puts his foot in his mouth a lot of times. But he's learning. He's picking it up. I think he's a good detective, but he's got a lot to learn on how to approach cases." Scanavino starred in an episode of Netflix's 2020 anthology series Social Distance as the father of his real-life son Leo Bai-Scanavino.

Headshot of Octavio Pisano
Octavio Pisano

Character's name: "Joe Velasco"
Birthday: 05/25/1986
Birthplace: Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Headshot of Kevin Kane
Kevin Kane

Character's name: "Terry Bruno"
Birthday: 12/22/2024
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Biography:
Kevin Kane was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor and producer.

Headshot of Juliana Aidén Martinez
Juliana Aidén Martinez

Character's name: "Kate Silva"
Birthday: 12/22/2024

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