If you needed yet another reason to adore Law and Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay (and her on-screen, justice-seeking counterpart, Olivia Benson), we’ve got a pretty good one. On November 30, a video began making the rounds on Twitter showing the Emmy award-winning actress and executive producer kindly confronting a New York City man in an attempt to get an ongoing Law and Order: SVU shoot back on track. In the video, Hargitay approaches the man and respectfully asks him to stop singing and derailing their film schedule, telling the eager performer: “Your singing was beautiful, but we’re just trying to get the shot. Is it okay if you don’t sing when we say ‘action’?”
olivia benson talking to someone trying to disrupt filming pic.twitter.com/wlO5xNprpI
— hoa (@ELLlEFILMS) November 30, 2021
According to the Twitter user who shared the video (via Variety), the NYC man appeared to be singing loudly with the intention of interrupting the shoot, and had repeatedly refused to stop when the show’s various crew members asked him to, making Hargitay’s cool demeanor even more admirable. Law & Order: SVU showrunner Warren Leight noted this when he later shared the video, writing: “what other #1 on the call sheet could do this? We all [love] Mariska.”
What other #1 on the call sheet could do this?
We all ❤️ @Mariska https://t.co/NBYR2TqMED
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) December 1, 2021
While it’s unclear if the man was singing in an attempt to get attention from Hargitay, once the actress made an appearance he quickly grew more reasonable and offered to strike a deal with the star — though what the man wanted was inaudible in the video. However, Hargitay was quick to agree to his terms, telling him: “We’ll make a deal. I’m happy to do that for you, it’s just that we’re shooting, so it doesn’t work for the scene. Is that okay? I’ll get to you, though.”
Since 1999, Hargitay has been a mainstay on the NBC American crime drama Law and Order: SVU and is often considered one of the most popular characters in television. For her role on the show, the actress has earned eight Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations, winning one of each. And hey, if that’s not prestige enough, none other than Taylor Swift has a cat named after her SVU character, and we all know that’s about the highest honor you can receive.