Law & Order: SVU has been on television for what seems like forever. Regardless, it has kept fans hooked since the beginning. The show has also opened doors for many young actors who wanted to get a start in the acting industry. Looking back at the earlier episode of the show, fans may notice some familiar faces.
The popular crime drama show always uses multiple guest stars and actors to play the role of victims or suspects. For many of these actors, it was their first real gig before landing an even bigger role later on. Let's take a look and find ten recognized actors who later landed an even bigger role.
Hayden Panetierre
Hayden Panetierre not only appeared on the show once but twice. She first appeared as a child in the episode "Abuse" in season two of the show. She played the role of Ashley Austin Balck, a young girl who self-inflicted injures to get attention. Later on, as a teenager, she played Angela Agnelli in season 6, episode titled, "Hooked."
Panetierre went on to become known for her role as Clarie bennet in the NBC show, Heroes. She also received Golde Globe nominations for her role as Juliette Barnes in Nashville. As a teen, she also gained some recognition for her role in Bring It On: All or Nothing.
Sarah Hyland
Sarah Hyland was another guest star who appeared on the show twice at different ages. She first appeared as a young victim named Lily Ramsey in the episode "Repression." Eight years later, she played a new role as Jennifer Banks in "Hothouse" as a young teen who is addicted to being academically perfect and kills a school mate.
Hyland later became widely known for her role as Haley Dunphy in the comedy show, Modern Family. She played the role until the show's end in 2020. The role as Haley Dumphy got her numerous praise and nominations alongside the cast.
Jennette McCurdy
Jennette McCurdy became know in her career for playing Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon show, iCarly. She played the main role for 93 episodes. Back in 2005, she played Holly Purcell in "Contagious" on Law & Order: SVU. A young girl who lies about her injury and refuses to come clean about her molester.
McCurdy later reprised her role as Sam in a spinoff show titled Sam & Cat. Since iCarly, McCurdy also landed the main role as Wiley Day in the show, Between for 12 episodes. Besides acting, she is also a director and a writer for Seventeen magazine and The Huffington Post.
Elle Fanning
In 2006, Elle Fanning was only a child when appearing in the episode "Cage." She played Eden, a small girl who was part of a car accident and alter detectives fins out she was a part of a foster family who abused children. Fanning was known as a child actress for the majority of her career.
She gained recognition starring in J.J. Abrams, Super 8. She has since taken part in major films and played one of the main roles as Princess Aurora in the Maleficient films. Fanning has since focused more on independent films and became the youngest jury member at the Cannes Film Festival.
Emily VanCamp
Emily VanCamp is recently known for her brief role as Sharon Carter in the MCU. In 2007, she appeared on Law & Order: SVU in "Dependant." Since that episode, VanCamp has made an even bigger name for herself landing the main role as Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke in the drama series, Revenge.
She was also the main role in the running medical drama, The Resident as nurse practitioner Nicolette "Nic" Nevin. VanCamp is set to reprise her role as Sharon Carter in the new Disney series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Ian Somerhalder
The Vampire Diaries heartthrob, Ian Somerhalder once played a sociopath on Law & Order: SVU. He played spree killer Charlie Baker in the episode "Dominance." Only two years later, Somerhalder landed the biggest role of his career that he became known for. He played Boone Carlyle in the show Lost.
In 2009, he took on the main role of Damon Salvatore in the popular teen vampire show, The Vampire Diaries alongside Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev. He is also the main role in the vampire show, V Wars as Dr. Luther Swann.
Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Schreiber is a veteran in the show. He first made his appearance in the episode "Haystack" as a guest playing Dan Kozlowski. He then returned to the show to paly one of its most famous villains, William Lewis for eight episodes. Schreiber has since taken on roles in main casts for some popular projects.
He played George "Pornstache" Mendez in the Emmy nominated series, Orange Is the New Black was part of the main cast for the shows, Ironside and The Brink. He also plays Mad Sweeney in American Gods and recently played Neal Logiudice in the miniseries, Defending Jacob.
Emily Deschanel
Emily Deschanel comes from an acting family and made an appearance on the show in the episode "Surveillance" as Cassie Germaine. Her role was as a victim with an obsessed stalker. Deschanel went on to play her most recognized role on television as the main character.
She played Temperance Brennan in the hit crime drama show, Bones. She was the lead forensic anthropologist as the Jeffersonian in charge of analyzing human remains with her FBI partner Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) to solve murders. The show went on for a total of twelve seasons until 2017.
Amanda Seyfried
Only appearing in the episode "Outcry", Seyfried played Tandi McCain as a guest victim on the show. That same year, she landed her biggest career-changing role as Karen Smith in the cult classic film, Mean Girls. Since then, Seyfried has only escalated in stardom playing the lead role as Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia!
She is also known for her roles in Les Misérables, Dear John, and voicing Daphne in Scoob! She also became known for her role as Darah Henrickson in the television drama show, Big Love from 2006 until 2011.
Peter Scanavino
Peter Scanvino hits the top of the list for his role in Law & Order: SVU. Die-hard fans would have realized that Scanavino first appeared in a guest role as Johnny Dubcek in the SVU Season 14 episode "Monster's Legacy." He was a school janitor brought in as a murder suspect after the attack of the school's athletic coach.
Scanavino wasn't done with the show. In 2014, he came back but not as a guest but a permanent member of the main cast. He took on the role of Detective Dominick Carisis Jr. Fans soon fell in love with the new member and Scanavino's new role as well as his progression from detective to ADA Carisi.