“Law & Order: SVU,” America’s longest-running prime-time, live-action series, will continue its historic run Jan. 18 as it begins its 25th season, and while the show’s main stars have been a great reason for its longevity, “SVU” wouldn’t be what it is today without its many guest stars.
But what is it like to actually be one of those guest stars, working alongside Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T as they portray their famous characters, Olivia Benson and Odafin “Fin” Tutuola?
Jason Martin, 42, will portray a suspect in the Season 25 premiere, “Tunnel Blind.” In the episode, the squad celebrates the child of Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and ADA Dominick Carisi (Peter Scanavino), while another child goes missing in broad daylight.
Martin recently spoke to TODAY.com about his time working with the “SVU” team and shared advice for other actors who land a guest-starring spot on the show.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
How did you land the role?
I have a manager, and I have been in the New York acting scene for a couple of decades now. You get submitted, and you go in to audition. Actually during (the COVID-19 pandemic), a lot of the auditions moved to self-tapes. I record in a couple different setups, depending on where I’m at. I submitted a tape, and I was informed without any other callbacks that I booked it. This one was a pretty quick and easy one-and-done kind of deal.
Can you tell us, without giving too much away, about your character, who is a suspect?
He is a — from his own words — he’s a gentleman who’s excited by sports.
One of the things that blew me away, particularly with my character, is … he is a hoarder. It’s a seriously intense thing to experience, and I have a lot of sympathy for folks that are dealing with that. I think there’s something about an art department that can come in and just change an entire space. It’s incredible how they make these scenarios and the art department makes these spaces so real so fast. Like, overnight they turned an entire house into a hoarder house. The ability to storytell like that is incredible.
Have you ever been on any of the ‘Law & Order’ shows before?
I missed the original. … I’ve only auditioned for “SVU” one other time before, believe it or not. I’ve done a lot of the “FBI” series. I’ve done a lot of the shows in New York or cable, but I’ve never done “Law & Order.” I felt really excited in Year 25 to be in the premiere.
What is a day in the life of a guest star like on the ‘SVU’ set?
You will arrive to a soundstage or to the location. For the week I was shooting with them, I went to both the soundstage, and I went to an on-location. We shot in the middle of a neighborhood in Rockland County. I actually drove down myself, which is kind of a fantastic thing, to drive to a location that you’ve never been (to), and you arrive at a neighborhood where all these wonderful people are letting you come into their neighborhood for the day and they’re watching you.
You shoot with 60 people on a street, and you show up and it’s a lot of quickly folding yourself into what is a really amazingly fun group of family that work together every day. You have to quickly come and get into makeup and get into costume, and then you’re pretty much brought into set quite quickly. You’re immediately going, you’re doing it and you’re shooting the scene.
The thing I would say that’s the biggest thing about it is being prepared before you get there and really folding yourself in quickly, as they have to move really fast to get this shot. They shoot (an episode) within eight days, which is an incredible amount of script and minutes of footage to capture in eight days.
What was it like working with Ice-T?
He’s amazing. I think Ice-T, with Mariska, are the two longest (cast members) working on the show. They’re so good at it, they’re so natural, they’re so efficient. The first day I shot with him, and then the second day I shot with him and she was also there.
He’s just incredible. He’s effortless inside of it — he’s quick, he’s humorous, which is the biggest thing. If you’re working around such hard material, you have to have a sense of joy with you to go to work and do that all day. There’s a sense of joy among the cast, and Ice-T is a big part of that. He’s very funny, he’s very gracious and he just welcomes you very quickly and folds you in.
Mariska does a lot of work behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera. What was your experience like working with her?
Great! To be honest, you want to impress her. You want to be good at what you’re doing because she’s incredible, and she’s so respected. As an actor, looking at these actors and performers, they’re incredibly talented makers, but they’re also producers. They’re also people that are decision-makers in these rooms, and they’re wonderfully generous.
It’s like showing up, and it’s their time, their opportunity. They determine the energy on the set, and they’re extremely warm. It feels like you’re walking in to a family. There are a lot of jokes thrown between each other, and between takes, there’s surprising amounts of humor. Then it’s like, ‘Ready, set,’ and you’ve got to be in this really dark place really fast. And they’re incredibly adept at doing this and wonderfully believable and able to do that with a sense of … it’s not a heavy set to work on. It’s a joy.
Norberto Barba, who has directed some of ‘SVU’ fans’ favorite episodes, directed this one as well. What was it like being directed by him?
He’s incredible — so generous. He takes time between takes to really kind of work through it with you. … (He) gives you one little thing that’ll maybe turn the dial slightly so you can get a different color. He’s also really good at making sure to be efficient. … He’s making sure from the moment you walk there to be efficient with his direction, to be very respectful and help you. And also just make sure that you’re ready to be your best for everyone else on set.
What advice would you give to someone making a guest star appearance on ‘SVU’?
Be prepared as you can be when you walk in. I feel like that’s the job of any actor that’s guesting on a set in any respect. You’re there to really help the leads be their characters and be the best that they can be. The only way you can do that is to be 100% prepared and generous while you’re there but also to enjoy the experience.
It’s like such a New York institution to be a part of, these shows. When you go, these sets are filled with the most talented crew and creative team. It’s hard sometimes when you’re moving so fast to appreciate it and to relish it. I would just say to remember the moments because it is going to be quick. It’s a fast-moving set.
Season 25 of “Law & Order: SVU” premieres Jan. 18 at 9 p.m. ET after “Law & Order” at 8 p.m. and before “Law & Order: Organized Crime” at 10 p.m. on NBC. The episodes will also stream the following day on Peacock, which is part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.
