‘Modern Family’ Star Ariel Winter Posts Photos With Mariska Hargitay Ahead of ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Debut

Modern Family star Ariel Winter is making her Law & Order: Special Victims Unit debut Thursday night. Before the special episode airs, the 21-year-old actress celebrated the career milestone by sharing some behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram. She included photos with the show’s star, Mariska Hargitay.

Winter included a long caption about her episode, adding that SVU is her “favorite show ever.”

In “The Darkest Journey Home,” Winter stars as Reagan, who suddenly wakes up in her bedroom, believing she has been raped after a night out drinking with friends.

“It was an absolute honor to work with their entire cast and crew (EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO WORKS ON IT IS EFFING AWESOME), and I couldn’t be more grateful that I was entrusted to play Reagan,” Winter wrote on Instagram. “Reagan is wildly different from any character I’ve played. She’s special to me because she’s a realistic person. She’s not perfect, she’s still figuring herself out. She likes to go out and drink and experiment, and like many of us, she struggles with accepting herself and being honest.”

Winter continued, “The episode wrestles with the restrictions of being a ‘credible’ victim/witness. Making mistakes, or experimenting with things some may frown upon, does not mean you should be an open target for sexual assault. NOTHING anyone does could EVER possibly warrant that. It was a challenge to bring this all to life, because I have a fear of failure and a hard time relinquishing control. Like many people, it was hard for me to accept change and criticism. But the amazing guidance of [Hargitay] & [Jean de Segonzac] our director, helped me break down walls and look at the material in a new way.”

Winter then went on to describe how helpful working with Hargitay was. Hargitay is the last remaining SVU actor from the show’s first season, and this is her 21st season playing Olivia Benson.

“Mariska worked with me not only as an actress but as a person, and I feel I have grown immensely from the experience,” Winter wrote. “The amount of care and interest she showed in me as a person was amazing. She was truly interested in my life story and always made me feel heard. She was honest and gave me some of the most accurate advice I’ve ever been given. She pushed me as an actress and as a person. I couldn’t be luckier I had this experience. People like her are RARE in and out of this industry. She cares deeply about everyone. She cares about her show. Most importantly she cares about representing and doing justice by the brave people that relate to the stories.”

Elsewhere in “The Darkest Journey Home,” Benson, Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Fin (Ice-T) are put through new witness interrogation techniques by Dr. Alexis Hanover. The doctor is played by Amy Hargreaves, who previously played different roles on SVU in 2003 and 2012.

Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

Photo credit: Barbara Nitke/NBC