Characters

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  Detective Elliot Stabler

  Christopher Meloni

  A native of Washington, D.C., Christopher Meloni returns to the cast of Wolf Films/Universal Network Television’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for his fifth season as Detective Elliot Stabler.

   

  Meloni makes a move to the right side of the law as Detective Elliot Stabler. “Stabler and I are alike in that we’re focused on our job and couldn’t see doing anything else with our lives,” says Meloni about his character Detective Elliot Stabler. “He’s a rock solid guy, with a great capacity for compassion, the ironic, and the absurd. He can relish the small triumphs when they come and doesn’t allow the horrors of his job to infect him.” Meloni is familiar with difficult work, spending a few years in construction before beginning his acting career.

   

  Meloni is well known to television audiences for his portrayal of the duplicitous inmate Chris Keller on HBO’s hard-hitting, critically-praised series Oz. Additionally, he has appeared in a series of memorable guest-starring roles on some of network television’s most acclaimed series such as Homicide: Life on the Street as well as NYPD Blue,

   

  An avid traveler, Meloni has explored from Turkey to Bali and is searching for points in-between to visit. He also enjoys weightlifting, playing basketball, football and chess and is a martial arts enthusiast.Meloni resides in New York with his wife and daughter.

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  Olivia Benson

  Mariska Hargitay

  Mariska Hargitay returns for her fifth season playing Olivia Benson, an ambitious and emotionally vulnerable detective on Wolf Films/Universal Network Television’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. “As a woman, it’s gratifying to play a part that’s a multilayered challenge. Olivia is not only a competent, street-smart cop; she’s an empathetic woman who can respond emotionally to victims of terrible crimes without compromising her professionalism.”

   

  Hargitay is known to millions of viewers for her recurring role on ER as Dr. Greene’s (Anthony Edwards) girlfriend Cynthia Hooper in the 1997-98 season of the top-rated show in the U.S. Hargitay also gained notice as a cast regular in the sitcom Can’t Hurry Love with Nancy McKeon and Louis Mandylor.

   

  Her film credits include the thriller Lake Placid written by David E. Kelley and starring Bridget Fonda; the critically-acclaimed Leaving Las Vegas, David Lynch’s Hotel Room and Bob Fosse’s Star 80. Hargitay recently appeared in the Michael Rymer film, Perfume.

   

  Born and raised in Los Angeles, Hargitay is the youngest daughter of screen legend Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay. She divides her time between New York and Los Angeles. The UCLA graduate speaks Hungarian, French and Italian.
   

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  Captain Donald Cragen

  Dann Florek

  Reprising his role as Captain Cragen, Dann Florek returns to the cast of Wolf Films/Universal Network Television’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for his fifth season. Florek played the part for three seasons on Law & Order and in the Law & Order telefilm, Exiled: A Law & Order Movie.
   

  Florek first came to the TV viewing public’s attention for his portrayal of direct marketing whiz Dave Meyer on the Emmy-winning series L.A. Law, a role he reprised in the 2002 NBC telefilm L.A. Law: The Movie. Florek’s additional television credits include guest starring on The Practice, NYPD Blue, Sabrina
  the Teenage Witch, Smart Guy, Wings, Roseanne and Ellen. Florek also appeared in the telefilm The Pentagon Wars and the award-winning HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
   

  Florek moved to New York where his theater work included A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Strange Snow and Death of a Salesman. Later, he headed west to San Diego where he participated in many La Jolla Playhouse and Old Globe Theater productions, most notably as Teach in American Buffalo, and eventually worked his way to Los Angeles.

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  John Munch

  Richard Belzer

  Richard Belzer reprises his acerbic character Detective John Munch on Wolf Films/Universal Network Television’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit after first portraying Munch on the critically-acclaimed drama series Homicide: Life on the Street for seven seasons. His character transferred from Baltimore to New York to join the crime unit.

   

  The veteran standup comic, actor, talk-show host and author was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Due to his “uncontrollable wit,” Belzer was politely asked to leave every school he ever attended. He first worked as a reporter for the Bridgeport Post and several other newspapers around the country. Thisinterest in journalism is traced directly to his days as a paperboy in his hometown.

   

  Belzer was recently honored by the New York Friars Club and the Toyota Comedy Festival as the honoree of the first ever roast that was open to the public. Comedians and friends on the dais included Roast master Paul Shaffer, Christopher Walken, Danny Aiello, Barry Levinson, Robert Klein, Bill Maher, SVU co-stars Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, and Dann Florek, and Law & Order’s Jerry
  Orbach.

   

  Belzer and his wife, actress Harlee McBride, live in New York City while filming the series and in France during the remainder of the year.

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  Odafin Tutuola

  Ice-T

  Versatile actor, musician and performer Ice-T returns to the cast of Wolf Films/Universal Network Television’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for his fourth season in the role of Detective Odafin Tutuola.

   

  Born in New Jersey, Ice-T was an only child whose parents died when he was very young. He became involved in Los Angeles gangs and spent four years in the Army. His first break came when the producers of the movie Breakin’ asked him to rap in the film. From there he went on to become a world renowned, Grammy-winning musician and actor of equal caliber.

   

  Ice-T previously starred in Wolf’s NBC series Players (which he co-created), the NBC telefilm Exiled: A Law & Order Movie, as well as several high profile guest-starring appearances on Wolf’s Fox series New York Undercover. His film credits include New Jack City (opposite Wesley Snipes), Ricochet (with Denzel Washington), 3000 Miles to Graceland (with Kevin Costner), Johnny Mnemonic (with Keanu Reeves), Tank Girl and Walter Hill’s Trespass.