The TV show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, which started over 20 years ago with no signs of stopping anytime soon, revolves around the SVU unit of the N.Y.P.D. Throughout its 21 seasons, there have been innumerous guest appearances for the roles of victims, perps, and everything in between.
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The show has featured almost all of the Dunphys from Modern Family and more than enough Grey’s Anatomy doctors to perform a surgical procedure. Obviously, not all guest stars can be mentioned, but here are 10 celebrities you might have forgotten made an appearance on the crime TV show.
Whoopi Goldberg
In one of the more recent seasons, Whoopi Goldberg starred in the 4th episode of Season 17 titled “Institutional Fail”. The episode revolves around massively overworked Social Service caseworkers whose neglect leads to a child’s death. Goldberg’s character Janette Grayson is ultimately the one to blame since she knowingly supervises and approves of inaccurate and fake reports. She plays the role convincingly, truly appearing as an exhausted worker completely fed up with the broken system.
Milo Ventimiglia
Prior to his major role in the hit series This Is Us, Milo Ventimiglia played Lee Healy on the Season 5 episode “Escape”. Along with Olivia Benson, he’s taken hostage by a man convicted of raping him a decade earlier. However, the truth comes out by the end of the episode: the man, who was like a father to Ventimiglia’s character, was not the rapist, it was actually his own cousin.
Other guest stars of Season 5 starred professional tennis player Serena Williams and well-known deaf actress Marlee Matlin.
John Stamos
Uncle Jesse gets himself into some trouble in this Season 12 episode of Law and Order: SVU. Known as Ken Turner, the detectives eventually find out he is a reproductive abuser, meaning he uses broken condoms unbeknownst to his sexual partners in order to father nearly 50 children.
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Unapologetic about his actions, Stamos’ demeanor and acting are spot-on. It doesn’t end well for him however when he’s stabbed with a knife that explodes his chest with pressurized air. Definitely not the ideal way to go.
Brittany Snow
The Season 7 finale titled “Influence” guest-starred Brittany Snow as Jamie Hoskins, a bipolar teen that accidentally killed someone during an attempted suicide. Revolving around the topic of mental health, Snow’s character struggles with whether or not to take her medication, which she went off prior to the accident.
Popular The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus also guest-starred in this episode as a famous rock star who, based on his own personal experiences with mental health, influenced Snow’s decisions.
Carol Burnett
Legendary comedienne Carol Burnett made an appearance on the Season 10 episode of Law and Order: SVU titled “Ballerina”. She plays Birdie Sulloway, whose husband is pushed out of a window at the beginning of the episode. The uber-manipulative and cunning Birdie is played expertly by Burnett. The reveal that she orchestrated the entire thing, and had even done it before, made it a seriously great episode.
Other guest stars from this season include Lizzie McGuire star Hillary Duff and pop music icon Jesse McCartney.
Martin Short
The episode starring Martin Short is a seriously messed up one. The 18th episode of Season 6, titled “Pure”, introduced Short as Sebastian Ballentine, a psychic who approached the detectives claiming to know about the crime that had occurred. The deeper into the episode, however, it becomes abundantly clear that Ballentine is toying with the detectives. His real name was Henry Palaver, and he had been kidnapping and raping virgins with the help of his wife. Short’s character is incredibly creepy and the entire episode will send chills up your spine.
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Amanda Seyfried and Bradley Cooper were also guest stars on the 6th season of Law and Order: SVU.
Ian Somerhalder
Before he was one of the main characters on The Vampire Diaries, Ian Somerhalder starred in Season 4 of SVU as Charlie Baker. A multitude of murders leads the detectives to Al Baker and his 2 sons Billy and Charlie. Things are clearly off in this family — especially the fact that Charlie has been raping his own brother and threatening to kill his father if he tells anyone. Somerhalder plays the sadist perfectly, embodying all the deception and intimidation necessary to make the viewer truly believe it.
Adam Driver
Known for his role as Kylo Ren in Star Wars and Charlie in the recent Netflix original movie Marriage Story, Adam Driver guest-starred in the Law and Order: SVU episode “Theatre Tricks” 8 years ago. Detectives Rollins and Tutuoloa’s investigation of a young actresses rape lead them to his character Jason Roberts, a fan infatuated with the girl.
Even though he had been stalking her, he recorded the assault, which both cleared him as a suspect and helped the detectives find the real perpetrator.
Sarah Paulson
Sarah Paulson plays the coldhearted killer Anne Gillette in the 12th episode of Season 11. The episode begins with an apparent murder-suicide, but soon the detectives set their sights on the dead couple’s daughter as a suspect. When she is finally arrested, Anne puts a hit on Olivia and another detective, later witnessing the two gunned down in front of her. Then, assuming she was in the clear, she admitted to killing her wealthy parents in order to keep her inheritance. Let’s just say when it’s revealed that she did not kill the detectives and she had just incriminated herself, her true colors came out.
As Anne Gillette, Sarah Paulson has no problem convincing the audience just how capable of murder her character was.
Robin Williams
Playing the morally grey character Merritt Rook in the 17th episode of Season 9, Robin Williams was flawless in this role. The detectives apprehended Rook who, as a result of his wife and child’s death, had a pervasive issue with authority, choosing to represent himself at trial. Then, when Olivia and Elliott split up while arresting him later, things go South; Rook takes Benson hostage, and it’s Williams’ impeccable acting that truly raises the stakes of the entire situation.
Other guest stars on Season 9 of Law and Order: SVU include former “Teenage Witch” star Melissa Joan Hart and Cynthia Nixon, who won an Emmy Award for her performance.
