Mariska Hargitay may be known for her more serious roles, but she always aspired to star in a comedy.
While looking back on the early days of her career during Tuesday’s episode of Amy Poehler‘s Good Hang podcast, she revealed she auditioned to star on Friends “so many times.”
“I did a lot of comedy auditions,” Hargitay told Poehler while reflecting on the beginning of her career. “I did Seinfeld and I did Single Guy, and I tested for Friends so many times.” When asked who she auditioned for, Hargitay revealed, “I think for Monica.”
The role of Monica ultimately went to Courteney Cox, who starred on the NBC sitcom alongside Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc from 1994 until 2004.
Hargitay went on to admit that she “always thought” she would “end up being on a sitcom or doing comedy.”
“And it’s so funny, I’m in L.A., struggling actor. I think it was after ER,” she said, referring to her recurring role as Cynthia Hooper on the medical drama. “I was like, ‘What am I going to do? What am I going to do?’ I loved ER, but I had a development deal with DreamWorks, and I was developing a show, and it was a la Ally McBeal, where it was a dramedy.”
Hargitay said she experienced a turning point in her career when she took a trip to New York City, which she “did three times a year to see theater.”
“I met with this psychic. Everyone said to me, ‘Oh my gosh, Mariska, you have to meet with this psychic. He’s amazing,’” she recalled. “I drove out somewhere on Long Island to this man and I went there and he started saying all this amazing stuff to me.”
Hargitay continued, “I was listening to him really intently like this. He said to me… ‘You see that face you’re doing right now? You see that face?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘You’re going to be famous for that face. You’re moving to New York and you’re gonna be famous for that face.’”
However, Hargitay was determined to land a network sitcom role at the time. “I said, ‘Uh, no.’ I live in L.A. and I’m going to be a comedian,” she said. “Six months later, swear to God, I got SVU.”
Hargitay has been playing Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU for more than two decades, and the NBC series is currently in its 27th season.
