Remember When Bradley Cooper Played a Slimy Defense Attorney on Law & Order: SVU?
Law & Order: SVU's "Night" remains one of the Dick Wolf's most impressive casting calls.
From Academy Award winners to global music stars, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has never shied away from booking dynamite guest stars to go toe to toe with Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) in the squad room. Still, who could even try to forget Bradley Cooper's guest appearance in SVU's thrilling 2005 crossover episode.
That's right, years before The Hangover or A Star Is Born, Cooper was among the legion of future A-listers who earned recognition on Dick Wolf's gripping procedural. From the sensational Cynthia Nixon to the late Robin Williams, SVU has long been a rite of passage for Hollywood heavyweights and budding stars alike. In SVU's thrilling crossover with the spin-off Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Cooper was officially welcomed to the show's pantheon of powerhouse guest stars.
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Now a 12-time Oscar nominee, it's no surprise that Cooper's performance on SVU is required viewing for any Law & Order fan. Oh, and did we mention the late Angela Lansbury appears alongside Cooper, as well?
When did Bradley Cooper guest star on Law & Order: SVU?
In the two-part crossover event beginning with SVU Season 6, Episode 20 ("Night") and ending with Trial by Jury Season 1, Episode 11 ("Day"), Cooper played Jason Whitaker, a high-powered defense attorney with uncanny charm and an askew moral compass.
Whitaker was a slimy attorney who took anyone's money, so you can bet he gave the squad a real headache. Rita Moreno, Alfred Molin, and the late Angela Lansbury also guest star amid a gripping case that had Detectives Benson and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) jumping through hurdles to see justice served.
What happened in Bradley Cooper's Law & Order: SVU episode?
Cooper's character, Jason Whitaker, ended up crossing paths with the SVU as the defense attorney for a particularly pesky and egregiously wealthy man named Gabriel Duvall (Molin). After the squad identified Gabriel as their primary suspect in a string of sexual assaults, it didn't take long for his domineering mother, Eleanor Duvall (Lansbury), to show up at the precinct to demand answers for her son's arrest. On retainer for the Duvalls, Whitaker wasn't there to make the detectives' jobs any easier.
Gabriel's trial threw the squad through a loop, especially after A.D.A. Casey Novak (Diane Neal) was brutally beaten by the brother of one of the survivors. While Gabriel was initially suspected of foul play, he was eventually proven innocent after the real perp confessed. However, the incident led Novak to drop the case, causing it to eventually land on the desk of Trial by Jury's A.D.A. Tracey Kibre (Bebe Neuwirth). Cue the second half of the crossover!
During Trial by Jury's "Night," Cooper's Whitaker continues to represent Gabriel amid his courtroom shenanigans. While the squad's case had been built on a critical piece of DNA evidence, Whitaker managed to leverage a technicality to have the evidence thrown out. But Whitaker wasn't able to run from the evidence forever, eventually flipping to an insanity defense in an attempt to win Gabriel's case.
After calling Gabriel's mother Eleanor to the stand to testify against her son and prove his insanity, she refused to do so, instead still viewing him as perfect. In the end, the jury ruled that Gabriel was guilty, forever tarnishing Whitaker's once-glimmering reputation.
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