October 22, 2025
Mariska Hargitay could’ve replaced one of the iconic six actors in Friends.
Mariska appeared on Good Hang with Amy Poehler and recalled that she auditioned for a role in the hit sitcom as she wanted a career in comedy.
"Always," Hargitay said of a career in comedy, then joked, "How did I end up as America's sweetheart sex cop? I should have been you!"
While Mariska has been playing Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, she thought her comedic prowess was set to make her a comedian.
She landed roles in many sitcoms, including Can't Hurry Love, as well as episodes of Ellen and Key West.
"And I tested for Friends so many times," the actress revealed, adding that the role was probably that of Monica Geller, ultimately played by Courteney Cox.
Amid that struggle, she was advised by friends to see a certain psychic, who predicted her success from SVU.
"I went there and he started saying all this amazing stuff to me," she said.
"I was listening to him really intently like this," Hargitay said. “And he said to me, 'You see that face you're doing right now? You see that face? You're going to be famous for that face. You're moving to New York and you're gonna be famous for that face.' "
"I said, 'Uh, no. I live in L.A. and I'm going to be a comedian because I'm funny and I'm pretty and that is a deadly combination,'" she remembered. "I am going to be a comedian."
"And he looks at me, and this is my favorite moment in my life. He goes like this. 'I don't give a rat's ass what you say. You're going to be famous for that face,'" she recalled.
Six months after that Mariska Hargitay booked the role of Olivia Benson on SVU and has since starred in 27 seasons of the show.