Law & Order: SVU Star Who Nearly Became Friends' Monica
Before she became Law & Order: SVU’s steely captain, Mariska Hargitay came close to Central Perk, revealing on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast that she auditioned and screen-tested multiple times for Monica Geller on Friends—and that her early sights were set on a comedy career.
Here is a fun Hollywood fork-in-the-road: Mariska Hargitay says she was deep in the mix to play Monica Geller on Friends before her career swerved hard into Law & Order: SVU. Yes, Olivia Benson almost lived in that purple apartment.
The Friends what-if
On Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast, Hargitay said she auditioned and screen-tested multiple times for Monica. Courteney Cox obviously got the job, but Hargitay makes it sound like she was in it for real, not just a courtesy read.
She thought comedy was the lane
In her early Los Angeles years, Hargitay was chasing sitcoms and leaning into comedy. She figured any drama she did would still have to let her be funny because that felt like where her skills landed. She even told people she would become a comedian because she was funny and pretty. Not subtle, but honest.
- Auditioned for Seinfeld and The Single Guy
- Trained with the Groundlings improv troupe in L.A.
- Screen-tested for Monica on Friends more than once
A very specific prediction
During a rough stretch early on, she says a psychic sized her up and told her she was headed to New York and would be famous for, essentially, the face she was making right then. It stuck with her because, well, that is quite a call to make.
"You are moving to New York and you are going to be famous for that face."
Then SVU happened
She kept pushing the comedy track, and then, just six months later, she landed Law & Order: SVU. Cue the cross-country move, the badge, and a television run that turned her into an Emmy-winning Captain Olivia Benson for the next, well, forever.