Law & Order: Special Victims Unit casting director Jonathan Strauss reflects on 11 years of casting guest stars, giving Hollywood’s biggest names their first major jobs, and helping A-list actors transform their careers.
NBC
After 10 seasons and 240 episodes, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit casting director Jonathan Strauss estimates he's hired nearly 10,000 actors for a smattering of speaking roles over the last 11 years. And while many guest stars never graduate to the big leagues, SVU has, like the Law & Order mothership before it, served as the launching pad for a dizzying array of stars who've gone on to win Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys.
BuzzFeed sat down with Strauss in his offices on Manhattan's Chelsea Piers, on the Hudson River, to reminisce about 13 actors who got their acting start, or revitalized their careers, on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Zoe Saldana
When: "Criminal" (Season 5, Episode 21)
Who: Gabrielle Vega, a law student defending her father (James McDaniel) against murder charges.
"Zoe is one I had my eye on for a while," Strauss told BuzzFeed. "It's no secret now, but there's no one like her, and there really was no one like her 10 years ago. At the time, my not-so-secret-mission was to implant characters on the show who could become something more. In this case, her character was in law school and my hope was she could turn into an assistant district attorney. In the end, it ended up not being practical because she became famous very quickly and the scheduling was too complicated."
NBC
Amanda Seyfried
When: "Outcry" (Season 6, Episode 5)
Who: Tandi McCain, a rape victim whose ever-changing story baffles Benson and Stabler.
"Amanda was a star from the time I met her, and it's not even a rearview mirror thing; even at 15, her talent was obvious. I was working on an episode about a young pop star who was being stalked by a rabid fan ['Obscene,' Season 6, Episode 3]. It was a huge search, and I use those kinds of opportunities to canvas the talent pool of the moment, so for that role I ended up auditioning Megan Fox, Kat Dennings, Amanda Seyfried, and Maggie Grace, who ended up getting the role. I wanted Amanda for that part, but I kept her in mind when 'Outcry' came around. She auditioned and my producer was concerned because the character has a turn where you realize she's protecting her abuser and he didn't believe the turn. So I ran after Amanda in the hallway, gave her the note before she came back in, and she got the role. To me, she was famous from day one."
NBC
