Hey! Isn't that... For this list, we’ll be looking at famous actors that you either forgot or never knew once guest starred on this long running drama.
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00:00 - It's been a long time, Finn.
00:01 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 best Law & Order SVU cameos.
00:08 - Now I'll always know where you are.
00:10 For this list, we're looking at famous actors that you either forgot or never knew once guest starred on this long-running drama.
00:17 Did Captain Olivia Benson lock better entries up behind bars? Let us know in the comments below.
00:22 Number 20, Jerry Lewis.
00:25 - He doesn't fit our profile, even if he wasn't too old. Our king was organized, he knew he could be.
00:29 Hardcore fans of SVU remember Detective John Munch, the wisecracking conspiracy theorist played by comedian Richard Belzer.
00:36 What they may not recall, however, was the season 8 episode where Munch's uncle shows up.
00:41 - You locked up my uncle.
00:42 The producers tapped famed comedian Jerry Lewis to play the familial role.
00:47 The episode, however, was far from funny.
00:50 Lewis portrays a beaten-down man whose mental health issues cause him to become unhoused.
00:55 He gets tangled up in an SVU investigation and ultimately kills the episode's bad guy by shoving him in front of a train.
01:01 Despite being known as the resident funnyman of the Rat Pack, Lewis put some impressive dramatic chops on display.
01:08 Number 19, Serena Williams.
01:11 - I got drunk, I got stupid.
01:13 Frat Boys breaking bad is a common theme on SVU, and that was at the center of the season 5 episode Brotherhood.
01:19 Benson and Stabler head to the campus of Wallace University to investigate the murder of a frat pledge master.
01:25 They soon discover that the victim ran websites where he posted videos of drunk women he'd exploited.
01:31 One of those women was a star player on the college basketball team.
01:35 When the detectives go to interview her and rule her out as a suspect,
01:39 we discover she's being played by Serena Williams.
01:41 - You think?
01:44 The actress did a great job making the realistic and harrowing material hit home.
01:48 Number 18, Angela Lansbury.
01:51 - You barged into my son's house in the middle of the night. You threatened him.
01:55 The season 6 episode Night may hold the record for the most impressive list of guest stars in a single episode.
02:01 During the episode, the SVU team discovers a link between multiple female refugees who appear to have all been assaulted by the same man.
02:09 Their investigation first takes them to the law office of Jason Whitaker,
02:13 a brash attorney played by a very young Bradley Cooper.
02:16 He then points them in the direction of an eccentric man named Gabriel.
02:20 The perpetrator turns out to be played by Alfred Molina.
02:23 Additionally, Gabriel's mother is portrayed by the indomitable Angela Lansbury,
02:28 who steals the whole episode.
02:30 She's a no-nonsense rich socialite who goes to war with Detective Stabler in an attempt to protect her son.
02:36 - Do you like your job, detective?
02:38 - Yes, ma'am.
02:41 - Then I suggest you stay away from my son.
02:46 Number 17. Pablo Schreiber.
02:48 - My apologies, ladies and gentlemen.
02:51 I'm moving slowly these days due to the brutal beating I received from Detective Benson.
02:55 Almost a decade before starring as Master Chief in the Paramount+ adaptation of Halo,
02:59 Pablo Schreiber was one of the most bone-shelling villains in SVU history.
03:04 Between seasons 14 and 15, Schreiber guest starred in eight episodes as William Lewis.
03:09 Traumatized by his childhood in Kentucky, Lewis grew up and became a prolific serial killer and kidnapper.
03:15 He and Benson play a year-long game of cat and mouse.
03:19 Over the course of his run, Lewis kidnaps Benson, is arrested,
03:23 represents himself at trial, and escapes from prison.
03:26 There are few actors who brought such menace to their performance.
03:29 - You became violent.
03:31 - I was trying to stay alive.
03:33 - We both know that's not what happened.
03:36 Wasn't I handcuffed?
03:38 So it's no surprise the show brought Schreiber back again and again until his character's death.
03:44 Number 16 - Leslie Caron
03:46 - Mrs. Damas.
03:47 - Miss Damas.
03:50 For two decades, Leslie Caron was a leading lady in big, classic Hollywood musicals.
03:55 Decades later, she won a primetime Emmy for her guest role on Law & Order SVU.
04:00 She appeared in an episode where a prominent lawyer gets away with assaulting a woman due to lack of evidence.
04:06 The SVU squad is motivated to check in with his other potential victims.
04:10 Eventually, they discover Caron's Lorraine, a woman who was assaulted by him years earlier.
04:15 She explains to the detectives the ways in which the trauma ruined her life.
04:20 Caron delivers an absolutely gut-wrenching performance that completely commands your attention.
04:25 Number 15 - John Ritter
04:28 Law & Order SVU often acts as a showcase for actors to play against type.
04:32 John Ritter is a prime example.
04:35 - What the hell is this?
04:36 He made a career in comedy, starring in sitcoms like Three's Company and voicing Clifford the Big Red Dog.
04:43 Despite being famous in Hollywood for his generosity and kindness,
04:46 Ritter brought the darkness to his guest appearance.
04:49 He played Richard Manning, a psychiatrist who discovers that his wife is having an affair.
04:54 The character retaliates by ensuring she'll never see her child grow up.
04:58 Ritter leans on his earnestness and feigns innocence right up until the last scene,
05:03 where he breaks on the stand.
05:05 - You only cried a little.
05:06 You only cried a little.
05:10 Number 14 - Whoopi Goldberg
05:12 Even two decades after the show's inception, SVU has continued to attract some of Hollywood's biggest names.
05:18 In its 17th season, this included Whoopi Goldberg,
05:22 who portrayed overwhelmed Department of Child Services supervisor Jeanette Grayson.
05:26 - And I had no idea how badly things had devolved.
05:29 I mean, I'm heartbroken for Keisha and how she suffered.
05:32 Dragged into the middle of an investigation when a malnourished girl is found locked in a dog cage,
05:37 Goldberg's morally corrupt character is both believable and provocative,
05:42 shedding light on the overwhelming number of cases handled by a single social worker.
05:46 - We get the dregs of humanity children raised by wolves.
05:51 Her emotional performance injected weight and credibility into the overall story.
05:56 Number 13 - Hilary Duff
05:59 Six years after Lizzie McGuire, former Disney star Hilary Duff landed on the wrong side of the law.
06:05 In a departure for the actress,
06:07 she guest starred as a missing baby's negligent, self-absorbed single mother.
06:11 - I just went back to sleep and the next morning when I woke up she was just...
06:16 She was gone.
06:22 She played an immature person with alcohol use disorder
06:25 who finds themselves ill-prepared to take care of another human being.
06:29 Ashley Walker was the perfect character to showcase the actress's range and versatility.
06:33 - You gotta know that I love my little girl.
06:36 Providing a compelling performance in an unusually dark role,
06:40 Duff definitely made the most of the opportunity,
06:42 standing out as one of the more memorable and unexpected celebrity cameos in the series.
06:46 Number 12 - Eric McCormack
06:49 - Oh, I don't like the look of this.
06:51 - Police make you nervous?
06:52 - No, ties.
06:53 ABU is strictly a no ties zone, my friend.
06:56 Eric McCormack was a staple of American prime time
06:59 thanks to his role as the eponymous Will in Will & Grace.
07:02 A few years after the show ended,
07:04 McCormack kept it in the NBC family by returning for a guest spot in season 11 of SVU.
07:10 In a shocking episode,
07:12 McCormack plays Vance Shepard,
07:13 a man in a relationship with a woman too young for him.
07:17 He ends up being arrested after she's found dead.
07:20 As it turns out, Vance never killed her.
07:22 He's actually just trying to take the fall for his daughter.
07:25 - Hey! I'm trying to confess here, will someone listen?
07:29 I did it, I- I did it! I killed Emily Keith!
07:33 When the ruse fails,
07:35 she murders Vance right in the middle of the SVU squad room.
07:38 McCormack's performance was absolutely stellar as he played the tragic character.
07:43 Number 11 - Ellen Burstyn
07:46 In season 10, we were all introduced to Stabler's mother Bernadette.
07:49 - Elliot.
07:50 - Hi, Mom.
07:53 At the time, Elliot was struggling with his daughter Kathleen's penchant
07:56 for acting out and committing crimes.
07:58 Ellen Burstyn's Bernadette is then brought in to help.
08:01 After Kathleen talks about her mental condition,
08:03 the matriarch confesses that she's been dealing with bipolar disorder for decades.
08:08 Burstyn's performance is absolutely astonishing.
08:11 Not only does she have great chemistry with Kathleen,
08:14 but her scenes with Stabler are absolutely electric.
08:17 - Was I a bad mother?
08:19 - No.
08:21 - Well then how come I haven't seen you for the last three years, huh?
08:26 In the end, Burstyn's role also netted her a Primetime Emmy Award.
08:30 She subsequently reprised the role of Mrs. Stabler in the SVU spinoff, Organized Crime.
08:34 Number 10 - Marsha Gay Harden
08:38 Marsha Gay Harden had a recurring role as undercover FBI agent Dana Lewis
08:42 in four separate seasons of SVU.
08:44 - You're being played.
08:46 Lewis met the SVU crew while infiltrating a cell of white supremacists.
08:51 She and the team mix it up during a number of chaotic episodes.
08:54 At one point, Lewis accidentally shoots Elliot.
08:57 - Oh my god, what happened?
08:58 - It ricocheted off the beam!
09:00 It's clear Harden and the cast had chemistry.
09:03 After all, they brought her back three more times after her first episode.
09:07 That chemistry took a dark turn, however, in the season 14 episode, Secrets Exhumed.
09:11 Much to Detective Benson's shock and dismay, it's revealed that Lewis is a murderer.
09:17 This twist brought her great series of appearances to a surprising head.
09:21 Number 9 - Hayden Panettiere
09:24 Hollywood only has so many talented celebrities.
09:28 So occasionally SVU doubles up.
09:30 Separated by a couple of years and predating her starring role in the superhero drama Heroes,
09:34 Hayden Panettiere scored two completely unrelated guest appearances on Law & Order Special Victims Unit.
09:40 - I wanted us to hang out today.
09:41 - We can, I'm working.
09:43 - But I won't get in your way, I promise.
09:45 Only 11 at the time of her first appearance,
09:48 Hayden is barely recognizable as the neglected, endearing daughter of famous musicians.
09:53 In season 6, the teenager dropped a provocative polar opposite performance
09:58 as a manipulative, adventurous student with a dark and shocking secret.
10:02 - I'm so sorry, I just want my life back.
10:06 Number 8 - Jeremy Irons
10:09 Landing a recurring part as Dr. Cap Jackson,
10:12 Jeremy Irons is introduced as a potential suspect in an assault.
10:16 However, he ends up assisting Detectives Stabler and Benson as an FBI consultant.
10:20 - So how do you think your daughter is gonna feel when she finds out you protected her attacker?
10:24 She gonna wake up and say, "Thank you, Danny."
10:27 - Don't you accuse me of not caring about Anne.
10:30 Nailing his role as a morally ambiguous,
10:32 guilt-ridden doctor grappling with a muddy past and conflict of interest,
10:36 Irons shows why he's a decorated stage and screen actor with an impressive collection of Academy,
10:41 Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe Awards.
10:43 - When she was 16, my daughter stopped speaking to me.
10:48 For 20 years, she hated me.
10:52 Number 7 - John Stamos
10:55 Best known for his role as hair-obsessed Jesse Katsopoulos in ABC's wholesome sitcom, Full House,
11:00 John Stamos might seem like a counterintuitive choice for a cameo in a crime drama.
11:05 - Baby, you're mature and sophisticated.
11:07 I love you.
11:09 - Okay, that's enough, Romeo.
11:11 But as charming con artist Ken Turner, Stamos is perfectly cast and an absolute blast.
11:17 - Dee Dee, he's Jasper's father.
11:19 Oh my God.
11:22 - Isn't that great?
11:23 Now I'm gonna have one with you.
11:26 Depicting a reproductive abuser, a term that sadly was not invented by SVU,
11:31 Turner pokes holes in condoms to improve the odds of scoring a pregnancy
11:36 and has successfully fathered over 20 children.
11:38 - You know you wanna bang your partner.
11:40 Watch your girl swollen with your child.
11:44 And why not, man?
11:45 She'd give you a beautiful baby.
11:47 Jeez, where are Danny Tanner's life lessons when you need them?
11:50 Number 6 - Martin Short
11:53 If the Special Victims Unit has put on the case, the time for jokes has truly passed.
11:58 So what could Saturday Night Live alum and successful comedian Martin Short possibly offer the show?
12:03 - What's your angle, you little vulture?
12:04 - I'm just trying to help.
12:05 - That woman is out of her mind with worry.
12:07 She doesn't need your help.
12:08 - I keep seeing a serial port and a computer cord.
12:12 Does that mean anything to you?
12:13 In the SVU episode "Pure", he was given the chance to explore new territory
12:17 and boy did he ever.
12:19 As a fake psychic with a history of assault who pretends to lend the detectives a helping hand,
12:24 Short is shockingly convincing and definitely creepy.
12:27 - Well, there is a problem with your husband.
12:30 - What about him?
12:34 - You don't have one.
12:38 Despite the character's repulsive background,
12:40 the actor's typical goofy charm remained surprisingly intact,
12:43 which only made his performance all the more unsettling.
12:46 - Where is she?
12:47 - I don't make up your mind if you want me to use my gift or not.
12:51 Number 5 - Jennifer Love Hewitt
12:53 Airing mere months after "Ghost Whisperer" went off the air,
12:57 SVU granted a quick return to the small screen for the accomplished actress.
13:01 - Vicky, drop the gun.
13:02 - Daya, I have to protect myself.
13:04 - I'm gonna protect you, Vicky.
13:05 I promise.
13:07 Guest starring in the season 12 episode "Behave",
13:10 Jennifer Love Hewitt was put through the wringer
13:12 as a victim who suffered multiple assaults by the same man over 15 years.
13:17 - Please, please forgive me.
13:19 Please, I swear to God.
13:20 They made me tell them it was you.
13:22 I'm sorry, please.
13:22 - I don't know who you think I am.
13:25 - Okay, okay.
13:26 Understandably terrified and reluctant to speak to the police,
13:29 Hewitt provides a raw and heart-wrenching performance
13:31 that brings her traumatized character Vicky Sayers to life
13:35 and raising the bar for guest stars on the show.
13:38 - Every day for 15 years, I have feared for my life.
13:42 Number 4.
13:43 Cynthia Nixon
13:45 Despite a starring role for six seasons on HBO,
13:48 Cynthia Nixon pulled off her most multifaceted performance on NBC's crime drama.
13:53 The "Sex and the City" actress starred on SVU
13:55 as a parent dealing with dissociative identity disorder.
13:58 - You!
13:58 - Sammy, put it back down.
14:01 - You!
14:03 - Get out of my face!
14:05 Jumping back and forth between five different personalities,
14:08 Nixon was clearly having a lot of fun portraying such an unpredictable suspect.
14:12 And the season 9 episode benefited greatly from the celebrity's presence.
14:16 - April is gone and she's never coming back.
14:20 Closing with a memorable twist and just an all-round awesome hour of television,
14:25 Nixon even earned a primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
14:30 - I was good, wasn't I?
14:31 Number 3.
14:32 Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
14:34 Every once in a while, SVU has an episode where a detective's personal life gets wrapped up in a
14:39 case. In the season 7 episode "Venom," we learn a bit about Detective Tutuola's relationship with
14:45 his estranged son Ken. We also meet Ken's half-brother, Darius Parker.
14:50 - Look, Finn, I'm straight, man. I'm not like I used to be at all.
14:54 Played by rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, this character is full of rage for his family.
14:59 Unlike Ken, Darius was not raised by his mother. His resentment and rough childhood lead him to a
15:05 life of crime. Bridges brings an incredible amount of pathos to the screen. He is the rare SVU villain
15:12 with whom the audience can easily empathize. - Look, I'm guilty of murder here, so
15:17 I'm not gonna make any excuses, alright? Number 2.
15:21 Carol Burnett
15:22 Hailed as television royalty, the star of The Carol Burnett Show broke new ground as the first
15:27 woman to host a variety show. In the grand scheme of things, a Law & Order guest appearance is merely
15:35 a footnote in Carol Burnett's storied legacy. But the actress does not seem to know the meaning of
15:40 forgettable. In "Ballerina," she plays a woman on a mission - a mission to murder her husbands.
15:56 Dominating the episode with a nuanced and ultimately chilling performance,
15:59 she steals the show as a serial killer with a disturbingly close relationship with her nephew.
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16:19 Number 1. Robin Williams
16:24 Even after making the leap to the big time, the late great Robin Williams was not above
16:28 returning to his roots on the small screen. As the comedian's only performance during 2008,
16:36 Williams stuck it to the man as an anti-authoritarian engineer who becomes a
16:40 nationwide sensation after successfully defending himself in court. Sensibly opting against casting
16:53 the impossible-to-hate actor as a simple one-dimensional villain, Williams' character
16:58 manages to be sympathetic and fascinating even as he weaves his web. And the accomplished actor's
17:03 magnetic charm helps sell some of the episode's wilder moments. Did you enjoy this video? Check
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