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'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' star Mariska Hargitay took care of someone special for real when a little girl approached her while filming the CBS procedural, mistaking her for a real police officer, to tell her she was lost.
They say art imitates life, but sometimes life can imitate art. That's what happened when Mariska Hargitay got to play a police officer in real life.
The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star was filming a scene for the long-running CBS procedural in her detective's uniform in New York City when she was approached by a little girl.
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View StoryCompletely unaware that a show was being filmed, the girl appeared to mistake Hargitay for a real police officer, telling her that she'd been separated from her mother at a nearby playground, per a witness who spoke with People magazine.
The venerated actress didn't even hesitate, stopping production for approximately 20 minutes, per the outlet, to help reunite the girl with her mother. She then took some time to console both of them.
Hargitay will have even more opportunity for heroics as the longest-running primetime live-action series in history just signed up to go even longer with its 26th season. Even after 25 years, SVU dominates Thursday nights in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
Both Hargitay and Ice-T will return to the show next season, extending their reign as the longest-running (continuous) female and male characters in television history.
Fans were loving the moment, calling Hargitay a "real life hero" for stopping everything to help this little girl find her mother.
