Mariska Hargitay reveals she almost starred in this hit

Mariska Hargitay is known for her role as Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: SVU,” but she originally thought her career would go in a completely different direction.

“I always thought I would end up being in a sitcom or doing comedy,” Hargitay said, adding that she guest-starred on “Seinfeld” and “tried out for ‘Friends’ many times.”

The actress said she was auditioning for the role of Monica, which ultimately went to Courteney Cox.

And although he couldn’t see what the future would hold, one person correctly predicted it.

NBC via Getty Images

“I met with this psychic. Everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, Mariska, you have to meet with this psychic. He’s amazing,'” she told Poehler about an experience she had while visiting New York. “So I drove somewhere on Long Island to see this man and I went there and he started telling me all these incredible things.”

“I was listening very carefully,” Hargitay said, revealing the very serious face for which she is now known.

“And he said to me, ‘Do you see that face you’re making right now? Do you see that face?’ …He says, ‘You’re going to be famous for that face.’ You will move to New York and you will be famous for that face,’” the actor recalled.

“And I was like, ‘Uh, no! I live in Los Angeles and I’m going to be a comedian because I’m funny and pretty, and that’s a deadly combination: I’m going to be a comedian!'” she joked, although we all know how the story goes.

The psychic did not accept Hargitay’s protests and told him: “I don’t give a damn what you say!”

“Six months later, I swear to God… I got ‘SVU,’” the actor said.

“,”guy”:”video”,”goal”:{“author”:”Good time with Amy Poehler”,”author_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1lg-nYUcZ1pjo6EC2Nj5Sw”,”cache_age”:86400,”description”:”Mariska Hargitay never gets tired one bit. Amy hangs out with the ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ star and talks about playing Cynthia Hooper on ‘ER,’ making fun of Christopher Meloni and watching ‘Hamilton’ 27 times.nnHost: Amy PoehlernGuests: Christopher Meloni and Mariska HargitaynExecutive producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler and Jenna Weiss-BermannFor the article Kite Productions: executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green and supervising producer Joel LovellnFor The Ringer: supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson, Belle Roman and Aleya Zenieris; lighting director Caroline Jannace; audio producer Kaya McMullen; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and booker Kat SpillanenOriginal music: Amy MilesnnVisible. Live informed. https://www.visible.com/nIt’s all about the little extras at voco hotels.”,”options”:{“_cc_load_policy”:{“label”:”Closed Captions”,”worth”:FAKE},”_end”:{“label”:”Finish the”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”worth”:””},”_begin”:{“label”:”Start from”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”worth”:”1421″}},”supplier_name”:”YouTube”,”thumbnail_height”:720,”thumbnail_url”:”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P3Xi27kcH-E/maxresdefault.jpg”,”thumbnail_width”:1280,”qualification”:”Mariska Hargitay | Good time with Amy Poehler”,”guy”:”video”,”URL”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Xi27kcH-E”,”version”:”1.0″},”flags”:[],”improvements”:{},”complete bleeding”:FAKE,”options”:{“issue”:”news”,”device”:”office”,”editionInfo”:{“ID”:”us”,”name”:”US”,”link”:”https://www.News.com”,”place”:”y_US”},”Original edition”:”us”,”esMapi”:FAKE,”esAmp”:FAKE,”it’s mobile”:FAKE,”esAdsFree”:FAKE,”enVideoEntry”:FAKE,”enEntry”:TRUE,”also mount”:FAKE,”Entry ID”:”68ff712be4b0fb1b95154e0d”,”entryPermanent link”:”https://www.News.com/entry/mariska-hargitay-friends_n_68ff712be4b0fb1b95154e0d”,”entryTagsList”:”mariska-hargitay,friends-tv-show,law-and-order-svu,@ai_seo_headline,@flexpro_1437052_10720386,@flexpro_resolved,@us_News_now”,”sectionSlug”:”entertainment”,”departmentSlug”:”entertainment”,”sectionRedirectUrl”:”https://www.News.com/entertainment”,”subcategories”:”celebrity”,”it is wide”:FAKE,”enShopping”:FAKE,”Override header”:null,”no video ads”:FAKE,”disable float”:FAKE,”is native”:FAKE,”commercialVideo”:{“supplier”:”habit”,”site_and_category”:”us.entertainment”,”package”:null},”enHighline”:FAKE,”vidibleConfigValues”:{“cid”:”60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf”,”cancels”:{“front_page_top_videos”:{“office”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”mobile web”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”},”top_media”:{“office”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”mobile”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”anthology”:{“office”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”content”:{“office”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”}},”playerUpdates”:{“5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8″:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″,”5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f”:”60b8e355cdd90620331ba185″,”58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895″:”60b64316b171b7444beafdb2″,”58b74698f78ced31417819ae”:”60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52″,”58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1″:”60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5″,”58cff690d85a100b9992bc39″:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180″:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7″:”60b643c82e76be41f112735c”,”592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”5b35266b158f855373e28256″:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a”:”60b64440b171b7444beb040b”,”5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9″:”60b646102e76be41f1127ffc”,”5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”5c477987a6b48b35f164773d”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371″:”60b8e747cdd90620331bb861″,”5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2″:”60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b”,”5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6″:”60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9″,”58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321″:”60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c”,”58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3″:”60d0dic19340d7032ad115a0″,”58cff8eccebcea42931e0436″:”60d0e005b627221e9d819d44″,”592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b”:”60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf”,”58cff72fd85a100b9992c112″:”60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da”,”56b4d34fe4b022697697c400″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d”:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″}},”connatixConfigValues”:{“default player”:”ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b”,”click to play player”:”d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0″,”video page player”:”f010447b-d24 4-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145″,”vertical player”:”e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065″,”StickyPlayerControl”:”52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da”,”sticky player”:”8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22″,”noAdsPlayer”:”deeeda04-49cb-4a1d-ac6c-c388a685b58e”,”life page player”:”e1d799d2-2d81-4f27-bfa0-e6833a657659″},”topConnatixThumnbailSrc”:”https://img.connatix.com/68ebb0e9-c031-4ce1-a7ab-eafc70db6ff8/1_th.jpg?crop=629:354,smart&width=629&height=354&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop”,”custom amplifier components”:[],”ampAssetsUrl”:”https://amp.assets.News.com”,”videoTraits”:null,”position in units units”:{“head_buzz”:{“count”:0},”body_buzz”:{“count”:0},”buzz_bottom”:{“count”:0}},”position in subunits”:{“article_body”:{“count”:4},”summary_blog”:{“count”:0},”before_going_happy”:{“count”:0}},”connatixCountsHelper”:{“count”:1},”buzzfeedTracking”:{“context_page_id”:”68ff712be4b0fb1b95154e0d”,”context_page_type”:”buzz”,”destination”:”post”,”mode”:”office”,”page_edit”:”es-us”},”labels”:[{[{“name”:”Mariska Hargitay”,”slug”:”Mariska Hargitay”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”theme/mariska-hargitay”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News.com/topic/mariska-hargitay”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News.com/topic/mariska-hargitay”},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/topic/mariska-hargitay”},{“name”:”friends tv show”,”slug”:”tv-show-friends”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”theme/tv-show-friends”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News.com/topic/friends-tv-show”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News.com/topic/friends-tv-show”},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/topic/friends-tv-show”},{“name”:”law and order svu”,”slug”:”law and order-svu”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”topic/law-and-order-svu”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News.com/topic/law-and-order-svu”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News.com/topic/law-and-order-svu”},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/topic/law-and-order-svu”}],”enLiveblogLive”:null,”enLiveblog”:FAKE,”backfillRelated articles”:[{[{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Mariska Hargitay Says She Knew Instantly Two ‘SVU’ Guest Stars Would Be Famous”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68f922ce1800000b4dfe3ea2.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”ibO67X4Eg4″},”broad”:1600,”height”:900,”credit”:””Good time”/YouTube”,”operations”:”500_281″},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/mariska-hargitary-svu-actors-famous_n_68f8ede7e4b0dbac45923138″,”ten”:”And she was right!”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Mariska Hargitay reveals the haircut that ‘almost’ got her ‘fired’ from ‘SVU'”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68cb0bb81400000c315c54f4.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”YouFKdrF4Q”},”broad”:2398,”height”:3000,”credit”:”Bobby Bank via Getty Images”,”operations”:”500_281″},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/mariska-hargitay-haircut-fired-svu_n_68caefc2e4b09bac8c7ec88a”,”ten”:”””My stylist had a glass of wine and I really should have known better,”” she said.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Mariska Hargitay reveals how she was ‘living a lie’ about her biological father’s identity”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/682b57df140000270039b913.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”E7nsiV63op”},”broad”:8256,”height”:5504,”credit”:”Anadolu via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/mariska-hargitay-biological-dad-nelson-sardelli_n_682b44eee4b0f527e57a6e42″,”ten”:”He “Law & Order: SVU” The star tells of his past in his new documentary, “My mom Jayne.””},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Former ‘SNL’ Cast Members Have ‘Really Hard’ Time Adjusting to Their Post-Show Careers”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68e47e29180000e8de5d1341.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”eT1Jz53JZM”},”broad”:1080,”height”:1080,”credit”:”fake images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/saturday-night-live-snl-punkie-johnson-chloe-troast_n_68e4607ce4b05e212f212b8d”,”ten”:”Punkie Johnson and Chloe Troast opened up about life after their appearances on the NBC comedy show.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Will Ferrell reveals his ‘most difficult and funniest’ job of all time”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/674b40811400002c00904bd6.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”c0er3lQm70″},”broad”:2424,”height”:3632,”credit”:”Danny Lawson – PA Images via PA Images via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/will-ferrell-saturday-night-live_n_674b3ecfe4b06a256107fa02″,”ten”:”The experience was high pressure and high reward.”}],”cet unit”:”body_buzz”,”enableIncontentPlayer”:FAKE,”bodyAds”:[[“

rnrn”,”

rnrn”,”

rnrn”],”ad count”:0,”midArticleAdPartner”:null},”enCollectionEmbed”:false}”>