Ever realize that certain faces in the Law & Order franchise look familiar? This is because they're not novices in the riveting crime drama series. Many actors on the show first made their debut in guest roles for one or two episodes. They seemed to have impressed Dick Wolf.
Many guest stars soon returned for solid main characters in the franchise. Before they were known as Detective Tutuola or Carisi, Ice-T and Peter Scanavino first got their feet wet in smaller roles. The Paley Center even dedicated a special titled, Law & Order: Before They Were Stars. Fans might be surprised that some of the franchise's most recognized characters had a previous history with Law & Order.
Courtney B. Vance
Actor Courtney B. Vance started his career on Broadway before making a shift to movies. One of his most recognized roles is actually from television. Many know him as a main character on Law & Order: Criminal Intent as A.D.A. Ron Carver. He held the role from 2001 up until 2006 for 111 episodes.
Before he was an A.D.A., he first made his appearance twice in Law & Order. In 1990, he had a small side role as the Mayor's assistant in "By Hooker, by Crook." Vance would later return in 1995 for another guest role as Benjamin 'Bud' Greer in "Rage."
S. Epatha Merkerson
S. Epatha Merkerson's character, Anita Van Buren is a force to be reckoned with. She's highly dedicated to her job disapproves of hunting. Buren is Law & Order's longest-running original character and has appeared in 390 episodes in the series. Merkerson's renowned role as the police Lieutenant wasn't her first rodeo in the show.
Only two years before getting one of her biggest roles on television, she was a guest character in the Law & Order episode "Mushrooms." She played Denise Winters. The episode revolved around the shooting of two young boys that leads to a teenage drug ring.
Jerry Orbach
Actors of the Law & Order franchise applaud and give credit to the series for bringing Broadway actors to the small screen. One of the franchise's most recognized actors is Broadway legend, Jerry Orbach. Fans would recall him for one of his more famous movie roles in Dirty Dancing.
Outside of Broadway and movies, Orbach landed the hit role as Senior Detective, Lennie Briscoe. One year before his main role, he had a small appearance in one episode under a different name. He played Frank Lehrmann in the episode "The Wages of Love."
Bebe Neuwirth
When it comes to television, Bebe Neuwirth is no stranger to stardom. She became highly recognized for her role as Frasier Cane's wife, Dr. Lilith Sternin in Cheers and the spin-off show. Years later she got a role in the fourth installment in Dick Wolf's franchise.
She would play one of the main roles as Tracey Kibre, the Homicide Bureau Chief in Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Before becoming Chief, she first appeared in SVU as a character named Nina Laszlo in "Or Just Look Like One." Before her main show, she appeared as her character, Tracey Kibre in SVU that same year.
Diane Neal
Diane Neal has had a long history with crime dramas. In the Law & Order franchise, she became known for her tough demeanor as A.D.A. Casey Novak. She would play the role from 2003 until 2008 and would later appear as a recurring character. Her character also once appeared in Law & Order: Trial by Jury.
Before she became a hard-hitting A.D.A. in the courtroom, she had already made an appearance in the show. In 2001, she played the role of Amelia Chase in "Ridicule" on SVU. Her character was a huge 180 as she's suspected of an especially heinous crime: erotic asphyxiation accident.
Raúl Esparza
Fans of the franchise can argue who's the best A.D.A. to walk through SVU. Many might be geared towards Rafael Barba who started to see the world as more than black and white. Barba was played by actor Raúl Esparza from season 15 to 19 and would make a comeback in seasons 21 and 22.
Esparza also played another A.D.A for one episode in 2009 in Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Kevin Mulrooney. The following year, he would make an appearance in Law & Order as Dennis Di Palma. Fans can agree that his emotional departure from SVU was hard to get through.
Tamara Tunie
No police precinct is complete without a medical examiner. That title went to Melinda Warner played by actor Tamara Tunie. Her characters was a series regular for many seasons but became a main role from seasons 7 through 12. Tunie would appear on screen as Warner for 171 episodes.
Before Tunie was knee-deep in bodies and forensics, in 1996 she appeared in the episode "Deadbeat" in the original show. The episode's synopsis involved the murder of a man in a hotel room leaving behind his loved ones as suspects.
Kelli Giddish
Over the years there have been changes in detectives on SVU. Some have come and gone, while others have stayed and left a lasting impression. Kelli Giddish would come to play one of the show's recognized detectives on the squad. She would take on the role of Detective Amanda Rollins know for her Southern charm. She became a main character in season 13.
Giddish's past appearances in the franchise weren't as a detective. She first appeared in Criminal Intent as Dana Stipe in "Depths" in 2007. That same year she would make her first appearance in SVU as Kara Bawson in "Outsider." Her guest roles would and her biggest character that would then appear in Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
Peter Scanavino
When fans first saw Peter Scanavino be introduced as Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. on SVU, he may have looked oddly familiar. That's because Scanavino was first a guest star on three Law & Order shows before becoming a regular character on SVU.
In 2005, he appeared in both Trial by Jury and in Criminal Intent as the characters Robert Hassel and Johnny Feist. Three years later, Scanavino would appear in the original show in "Just a Girl in the World." He even had a role in SVU before his big break. From 2014 onward, Scanavino would play one of the best detectives who worked his way up to A.D.A. on SVU.
Ice-T
Not many fans may know that Dick Wolf also created a television movie based on the Law & Order show. It was titled Exiled: A Law & Order Movie and premiered in 1998. Fans will come to realize that this was the first role Ice-T would have in the franchise that would lead to his main character role as Odafin Tutuola. Tutuola would become the most beloved character in the show.
He played the role of a souteneur named Seymour "Kingston" Stockton. The movie takes place three years after Detective Logan's departure from the show in 1995. Ice-T would then take on his role as Tutuola from 2000 onward and go from established rapper to actor.