Get the latest gossip

Mariska Hargitay pauses Law & Order: SVU shoot to help lost child - who mistook her for real cop - reunite with her mother

'Law & Order: SVU' star Mariska Hargitay recently channeled Capt. Olivia Benson by pausing a shoot to help a little girl who mistook her for a real police officer.

While filming new episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in New York City last week, Hargitay, 60, had no choice but to channel her onscreen counterpart when a lost child saw her badge, mistook her for a real police officer, and sought her help. A witness told PEOPLE that the April 10 shoot was briefly interrupted after the young girl got separated from her mother while playing in Fort Tryon Park. The Emmy-winning actress has been portraying Benson since 1999, when she was cast to lead the Law & Order spinoff that would eventually become the longest-running drama in prime-time American television.

Get the Android app