Mariska Hargitay Helps Lost Girl Find Her Mom While Filming ‘Law & Order: SVU’

A little girl believed Hargitay to be a real cop and approached her while filming ‘SVU’ to help her find her mom.

April 17, 2024, 10:27pm

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 10: Mariska Hargitay is seen taking a break from filming 'Law and Order: SVU' help a child at the Fort Tryon Playground on April 10, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Life just imitated art for Mariska Hargitay. According to People, the actress was in the middle of filming an episode of in New York City on Apr. 10 when a little girl, believing she was a real police officer, approached her. Hargitay was in her full Captain Olivia Benson outfit, badge included.

A witness told the outlet that the little girl was separated from her mother in Fort Tyron Park and asked Hargitay for help, not even catching the film crew and cameras surrounding the area. Tapping into her 25-year experience as Olivia Benson, Hargitay obliged and stopped production for 20 minutes to help the girl find her mother, consoling them both when they reunited. The witness believes that the little girl truly had no idea that Hargitay was just an actress and thought she was a real-life cop.

Videos by PopCulture.com

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 10: Mariska Hargitay is seen taking a break from filming ‘Law and Order: SVU’ help a child at the Fort Tryon Playground on April 10, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

With Law & Order: SVU, it wouldn’t be surprising if Hargitay has passed as a real police officer before, especially considering the series films in and around New York for 25 years now. Despite the series being on the air for so long, not everyone is watching it and, like the little girl, may not be old enough to watch or even realize what they just walked into. It does seem like Mariska Hargitay has fully embraced Olivia Benson, or perhaps her mom side, to help a little girl in need and it is perhaps the most wholesome thing ever.

Meanwhile, Law & Order: SVU is still going strong while in Season 25, and NBC has already renewed . Hargitay will continue to portray Captain Benson for at least another year, but since it seems like that will be no problem for her. Season 25 should be close to wrapping within the next few weeks or so, and it will be exciting to see how the season comes to an end. Though after the big kidnapping case at the beginning of the season, who knows what could happen.

As Hargitay continues helping people both on-screen and off-screen, new episodes of Law & Order: SVU air on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. All 25 seasons are also streaming on Peacock.