Throughout its 26-year span,Law & Order: SVUhas had some of the best episodes and stories in theLaw & Orderuniverse, and has firmly established itself as the best offering in its portfolio.Law & Order: SVUhas had some of the most disturbing episodes thanks to its subject matter, but the show has provided some of the most compelling television on NBC’s lineup. That’s all thanks to the dedication ofLaw & Order: SVU’s main and recurring cast, who bring the characters to life.
It’s not just the steady presence of longtimeSVUcast members like Mariska Hargitay who make an impact, however. WithSVU’s popularity came an increased presence of major Hollywood names as guest stars, some of whom stepped out of their comfort zones and typecast to provide dynamic and disturbing performances. We’re taking a look back and ranking the top 10 best guest stars onLaw & Order: SVU, and what made their performances so fantastic.
10Bradley Cooper
Before His Big Break, He Played An Aggressive Attorney
Prior to his big break in the 2005 filmWedding Crashers, Bradley Cooper played attorney Jason Whitaker inLaw & Order: SVUseason 6, episode 20, defending a suspected rapist, Gabriel Duvall (Alfred Molina). A duplicitous character morally, the episode was woven through twoLaw & Orderbrands, with the summation taking place on the short-livedLaw & Order: Trial By Jury.
The character’s moral ambiguity, as well as his reprehensible tactics used in pursuit of his client,was a great vehicle for Cooper to show his acting range, frequently switching from anger to lust to ambivalence. The episode garnered rave reviews and even an Emmy nomination for its other major guest star, Angela Lansbury, and gave future fans of his work a solid taste of his skills and what was to come on the big screen as a villainous character.
9Angela Lansbury
Her Guest Role Earned Her An Emmy Nomination
In the same season 6Law & Order: SVUepisode where Bradley Cooper gave a masterful performance,Angela Lansbury appeared as Eleanor Duvall, the mother of Gabriel Duvall, wanted for a rape that Cooper’s character was defending him against. Using her fortune to pay for the silence of Gabriel’s victims, she ultimately could not protect him from his penance and his guilty plea is handed down inLaw & Order: Trial By Jury.
Lansbury’s performance was one of the most compelling of both the season and the series itself.
Although most fans may recognize her from her classic CBS television showMurder, She Wrote, a required television viewing for all millennials home sick from school, Lansbury was a prolific actress and had an extensive dramatic resume. Lansbury’s work onSVUas a mother hellbent on protecting her son at any costearned her an Emmy nomination, and her performance wasone of the most compellingof both the season and the series itself.
8Jennifer Love Hewitt
A Masterful Performance As An Assault Victim
One of the most popular actresses of the early aughts, Jennifer Love Hewitt guest starred onLaw & Order: SVU’s season 12, episode 3 as Vicki Sayers, a woman who was repeatedly raped and beaten by the same man for 15 years. Over the course of the episode, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) worked to prove the guilt of William Harris (James LeGros) as her attacker, finally bringing him to justice together.
Hewitt’s guest spot showed her depth and range as an actress, andher performance was as haunting as it was jarring. In a deeply unsettling episode about the hunt for her serial rapist, Hewitt shined in a role that let fans see her step outside of her teen star background.
7Kathy Griffin
She Shone In Her Role As The Leader Of A Militant Lesbian Rights Group
InLaw & Order: SVUseason 11’s episode 13, “P.C.”, Benson and Stabler are investigating rapes in the lesbian community, and meet head on with the leader of a militant lesbian rights group named Babs Duffy, played exceptionally by comedienne Kathy Griffin. Duffy was at first adversarial against the Special Victims Unit, accusing them of ignoring the crimes due to homophobia, but ultimately was outed as bisexual as the squad uncovered her secret during an interrogation of a suspect.
Griffin, known for her black comedy and reality television work,took a step outside of her normal work with impressive results, providing a dramatic and compelling performance. Fans still got to see some of her comedic energy shine through at the end of the episode in her attempt to kiss Stabler, a call back to an earlier part of the episode where she tried to kiss Benson and a nod to the character’s truth being revealed.
6Melissa Joan Hart
Played An Accused Teacher Working To Clear Her Name
In season 9, episode 3, Melissa Joan Hart plays Sarah Trent, a teacher who is accused of raping one of her students after he tests positive for gonorrhea. The twist comes when her student, Shane Mills (Kyle Gallner), confesses to raping her due to his sex obsession. Trent begs ADA Casy Novak (Diane Neal) not to send him to jail, only for Mills to be attacked in a juvenile sex offender facility.
Hart’s performance as an assault victim turned sympathetic advocate for Mills wasone of her first pivots into this level of dramatic performance. Taking a big leap out of her normal comedy wheelhouse proved to be a successful venture, and we’d love to see her take on more dramatic and difficult roles like this in the future.
5Jerry Lewis
Comedy Legend Takes A Step Into Television Drama
Jerry Lewis, a comedy icon known for his work with Dean Martin, took on one of his last dark dramatic roles as Andrew Munch inLaw & Order: SVUseason 8, episode 4, the mentally ill uncle of Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer) and potentially a suspect in a vicious double homicide that included a young girl. When the murderer is apprehended and ultimately almost released on a technicality,Andrew takes justice into his hands by pushing the suspect in front of a moving train, seemingly believing he helped Stabler and Dani Beck (Connie Nielsen).
Lewis' frenetic energy and moral compass in the role, in spite of Munch’s mental acuity, was a reminder of just how good he was in any role he took on, regardless of the story behind it.
Lewis, a prolific comedic performer, was masterful in his portrayal of Andrew, a man who worked to help solve the murder of the young girl who was kind to him while he lived on the street. Lewis' frenetic energy and moral compass in the role, in spite of Munch’s mental acuity, was a reminder of just how good he was in any role he took on, regardless of the story behind it.
4Bob Saget
Bob Saget, everyone’s favorite television dad, was loved and adored by legions of fans who knew him as the wholesome Danny Tanner from ABC’sFull House, as well as the host ofAmerica’s Funniest Home Videos. In his later career, Saget dove deep into his original dark comedy work and also took on a series of dramatic roles, including that of Glenn Cheales, a jealous husband who tracked his wife with a tracking device in episode 9, season 8 ofLaw & Order: SVU.
His performance, arguably the best of the out-of-typecast guest stars, gave Saget a significant boost in both his popularity and standing among his contemporaries in the comedy field.
Saget’s dark and twisted turn as a jealous husband and lover, desperate to keep his wife after uncovering her affair, was a deeply disturbing performancethat made many fans squirm while acknowledging his acting chops. His performance, arguably the best of the out-of-typecast guest stars, gave Saget a significant boost in both his popularity and standing among his contemporaries in the comedy field.
3Martin Short
A Deeply Disturbing Turn For The Funny Man
One of the most disturbing performances onLaw & Order: SVUwas portrayed not by a longtime dramatic actor, but by a legendary comedic performer.Movie and TV icon Martin Shortplayed psychic Sebastian Ballentine inLaw & Order: SVUseason 6, episode 18, assisting the Special Victims Unit in the investigation of a kidnapping and rape case, only to be revealed as Henry Palaver, the rapist he claimed to be helping to look for.
Short, who’s never shied away from dramatic roles,brings a dark and disturbing element to the character, unsettling as the squad navigates both his projected assistance and then his confession. Short’s final interaction with his character’s wife, as well as with Stabler, was unhinged, securing his place as one of the best guest stars inSVUhistory. Those who know Short primarily know and love him for his comedic talent, but his turn showed he has the dramatic chops to match.
2John Ritter
Another Dramatic Turn For A Beloved Actor
It’s hard to imagine another actor as beloved and respected as John Ritter, the sitcom actor most notably from ABC’sThree’s Companyand a host of comedies that followed. Ritter played Dr. Richard Manning inSVUseason 3, episode 11, a psychiatrist who inadvertently killed his own child after he thought his wife was pregnant with her lover’s child.
In a fitting development, Ritter’s son, Jason Ritter, also appeared onLaw & Order: SVUthe next year in season 4, episode 20, as Billy Baker, the dimwitted accomplice of a spree killer.
Ritter’s dramatic performances were heralded throughout his career, but his stop onLaw & Order: SVUwas one of his best, showing the depth of his skill set seen so brilliantly in the 1996 filmSling Blade. The role would ultimately be one of Ritter’s last before his tragic passing in 2003,leaving fans with one of the best guest star performancesin the show’s history and one of his finest performances.
1Robin Williams
The Best Guest Starring Role By One Of The Greatest
In a league almost always of his own, Robin Williams was the definitive comedic and dramatic performer of his era. This was shown no better in his guest-starring role onLaw & Order: SVU’s season 9, episode 17 as Merritt Rook, an engineer who drove his wife’s doctor to suicide after she dies during childbirth, leading Stabler and Benson on a wild chase to capture him before revealing his plot to hurt Benson was all a ruse.
Williams was relentlessly disturbing in his role as Rook and played the part to near perfection, eventually escaping the detectives and getting away in the end. With such a masterful performance as an anti-authority figure bent on revenge and teaching lessons, there was no better villain, and guest star, onLaw & Order: SVUthan Robin Williams.
