Mariska Hargitay Reflects on Her 25-Year Friendship with Christopher Meloni: He 'Changed My Life' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Mariska HargitayandChristopher Meloniare going to be partners for life.

The actress, producer and director opens up to PEOPLE forthis week’s cover storyabout her friendship that spans more than two decades with Meloni.

“We met and the rest is history,” says theLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitstar. “It’s iconic. [He’s] somebody who’s changed my life so much, somebody I love.”

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni in 2000.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Hargitay, 59, and Meloni, 62, first met during the audition process forSVUwhen she mistakenly thought he was actor John Slattery — a story Hargitay knows is “famous” some 25 years later, as is the tale of how they waltzed into their big moment with the executives.

“[Chris] was telling me a story as we walked into the network executive screen test, and he finished his story,” she recalls, adding that he’s always had “cajones."

“It was just like that from the minute one," she says. “It was just off and running.”

Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay in 2003.Evan Agostini/Getty

The duo’sonscreen chemistry as Elliot Stabler and Olivia Bensonhas proved to be just as strong as their friendship, too — and Hargitay had big feelings right away.

“I was like, ‘If they match me with him, this is my role.’ And he said the same thing. He goes, ‘I want her.’ And then he and I got it,” she recalls, citing Meloni’s “energy, confidence, power,” and “the way he looked.”

She continues: “He was the guy. I just knew he was the guy from reading the script. He was New York, this dark horse, but funny, light. I’m so grateful that those magical stars collided.”

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni in 2010.Kevin Winter/Getty

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After Meloni departed the series as Stabler in 2011, Hargitay’s Benson stepped into her own, rising through the ranks from detective all the way to captain of the SVU. Now, Meloni is back starring on his ownLaw & Orderspinoff showOrganized Crime, and the two series often crossover.

Evans Vestal Ward/NBC/Getty

Fans have been rooting for Benson and Stabler to get together romantically since the show’s near inception, and Hargitay loves to describe the chemistry she shares with Meloni as “easy, effortless and earned.”

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni in 2022.Chris Haston/NBC via Getty

So, when asked to describe what the two sharewithoutusing those words, Hargitay ponders the question.

“It’s intense,” she says after a long pause, “it’s intimate, and it’s reassuring.”

For more on Mariska Hargitay, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.

source: people.com