Mariska Hargitay Auditioned to Play This Character on Friends: "I Always Thought..."
Just imagine Captain Benson hanging out with Ross, Rachel, and the rest of the Friends crew at Central Perk.
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Before Mariska Hargitay became Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, she auditioned to play another television icon. Instead of fighting the grisliest of crimes in New York City with her elite squad of dedicated detectives, she could have been hanging out at Central Perk as Monica on Friends.
During an October 2025 appearance on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast, Hargitay revealed that she auditioned for the role of Monica Geller on the beloved NBC sitcom Friends, a role that ultimately went to Courteney Cox.
"I tested for Friends," Hargitay told Amy Poehler about the early days of her acting career when she was in the sketch comedy troupe, The Groundlings, and pursing more comedic roles.
"You did?" Poehler excitedly asked. "Which part?"
"I think it [was] Monica," Hargitay said. "So long ago! But I always thought I'd end up being on a sitcom or doing comedy. That's what I thought."
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While Hargitay never made a cameo on Friends, she did dabble in the world of comedy and sitcoms, appearing on shows like Seinfeld and The Single Guy in the '90s. And fast-forward to a few years later and SVU's unstoppable Benson was born.
Mariska Hargitay reveals her "love language" with Chris Meloni
While Hargitay took on a more serious, dramatic role when when SVU first premiered in 1999, comedy and having fun were never far from her mind. Like when her longtime friend and then SVU co-star Christopher Meloni would tease her about a fake boyfriend named "Gerald" on the set and she'd play along with it.
"I have this personality, and Chris and I... both have that sense of humor, that sense of play, sense of risk," Hargitay shared on Good Hang, adding that she and Meloni share a "love language" of playfully teasing each other.
RELATED: Mariska Hargitay Roasts Chris Meloni Backstage at the Emmys and His Reaction Is Priceless
"Hard teasing, I learned that from, well, Chris Meloni was my teacher," Hargitay told Poehler. "This guy played so rough and was the first person that busted balls so hard. But I did grow up with two brothers, so I was like, 'Oh? Oh, is this is how we do it?' And we were so rough on each other. But then it became truly our love language."
Mariska Hargitay explains how Chris Meloni shocked her during SVU auditions
Their friendship began when they first met at their auditions for SVU. During her chat on Good Hang, Hargitay recalled how Meloni made a lasting first impression.
"Chris comes in, and he's wearing no clothes — big surprise — and he has this huge cross [tattoo on his arm], and I'm like, 'Oh my God, you're a Christian!'" she told Poehler. "And he goes like this, 'Yeah, no.'"
"Then why do you have Jesus Christ on your arm?" Hargitay recalled asking Meloni, who left her stunned when he said, "Because I admire his commitment."
"And I was like, 'OK, well, there's that,'" Hargitay laughed. "'I've never met anyone like you, but I like it.'"
RELATED: Christopher Meloni & Mariska Hargitay's First-Ever SVU Photo Is Emotional to See
The SVU cast and crew are "sacred" to Mariska Hargitay
From her co-stars who've become her dear friends to the talented crew, Hargitay treasures everything about the SVU team, as she shared during a 2024 interview with NBC Insider.
"I love my job," Hargitay said. "I love going to work every day. I love the community that I'm in. I love my cast, my crew, and I love the intimacy of it all and the fact that we work in a culture that says, 'Let's do the work, let's have a fun time, and best idea wins.' It is such a team. It is such an incredible team, and we rely so much on each other. We're a unit. It's so sacred to me."
