Mariska Hargitay has no plans to leave “Law & Order: SVU.”
The show, now entering its 20th season this fall, has seen Hargitay, 54, as the star since the pilot in 1999.
“I’m in it for the long haul,” she said at a Paley Center panel, per The Hollywood Reporter. “I said, ‘You keep writing like this, I’ll stay for 25 years.’ Why would I leave? I’m so grateful.”
NBC Entertainment president Robert Greenblatt said the network will keep the show going for as long as Hargitay has the desire.
“When I started to play this part, I said, ‘I don’t want to be a female in a man’s world,’” said the Golden Globe and Emmy winner. “I said, ‘I’m going to do it the way I would do it, with all of myself. With all of my badassness and empathy and vulnerability and power and really standing in it.’”
“This has been a beautiful journey for me personally, professionally,” the mother of three added. “I always say compassion and vulnerability are Olivia Benson’s superpower. That’s the message I personally want to give to the world, because that’s what we need more of.”
(Excerpt) Read more in: Page Six