LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: Peter Scanavino Reflects on His First Decade with the Series and His Season 26 Hopes

May 16, 2024 by Marisa Roffman

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “Duty to Hope” Episode 25013 — Pictured: (l-r) Kate Loprest as Trial Div. Chief Heidi Russell, Peter Scanavino as A.D.A Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr., Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

As LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT wraps up its historic 25th season (on Thursday, May 16 at 9/8c), it also marks a personal milestone for series star Peter Scanavino: his tenth season on the show.

“God, personally and professionally, it completely changed my life,” Scanavino, who plays ADA Carisi on the NBC drama, tells Give Me My Remote. “It’s so funny, because I got on the show, when…I’d been married, maybe, a couple of years and we just had a kid. It felt like I was really starting my adult life, in a sense…and [then] the show came. So it’s so interwoven with my life for this past decade. It’s been such a big part of it. But it’s been really incredible and it’s meant so much to me. It’s been such a blessing and a gift, personally and professionally.”

On-screen, Carisi has gone through a number of transitions as well: Outside of work, after years of will they/won’t they, Carisi married his former partner, Rollins (Kelli Giddish), and is raising a family. On the job, he joined SVU as a detective, before shifting to become the squad’s ADA.

The move to ADA, back in season 21, also allowed Scanavino to work with Mariska Hargitay’s Captain Benson—Carisi’s former boss—in a new way, something the actor has relished.

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “Children of Wolves” Episode 25009 — Pictured: (l-r) Mariska Hargitay, Director; Peter Scanavino — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

“Mariska, I’m super lucky professionally because I get to work with one of my best friends,” Scanavino says. “She’s just one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met. She’s so caring, so sensitive, so understanding; so talented and driven. She’s inspiring as an actor, just to see how hard she still works after all these years…you see somebody that big, that famous, and you say, ‘That’s how I hope I am if I ever get to that level.’”

“Then in terms of the show, I think a lot of [the Carisi and Benson friendship] reflects how we feel about each other in real life,” he continues. “I do remember the first episode [Carisi appeared], Carisi and her were kind of at odds and he was this kind of brash person—but he’s really opened up. And I feel like they can really bounce ideas off each other and open up about what they’re feeling and how they’re feeling about things. And it’s such a nice evolution of a friendship, both on-screen and off-screen.”

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “Children of Wolves” Episode 25009 — Pictured: (l-r) Peter Scanavino as A.D.A Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr., Kevin Kane as Det. Terry Bruno — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

The series has gone through a number of cast changes in recent years, which has allowed Scanavino to develop new dynamics with new on-screen partners…even if viewers don’t always get to see the final results.

“Kevin Kane and I have had some really good scenes—they didn’t all make it in; sometimes stuff gets left on the cutting room floor,” Scanavino says with a laugh. “But I feel like we’ve had some good stuff and I really liked doing scenes with him when we interrogate somebody or if I’m doing a ride-along. Kevin and I also get along really well, personally. So I’d say there’s something with the Detective Bruno and Carisi [pairing] that’s interesting.”

Though on paper the duo may be an odd pairing given Bruno’s vast fortune, Scanavino notes that might actually endear him to Carisi. “I don’t think he cares about it at all [about Bruno’s money]—I think, if anything, it’s a mark in his book that this guy is here for the right reasons,” he says. “It’s not a job for him. It’s something that he wants to do. He doesn’t have to [work] and who would choose to involve themselves in situations [like the ones SVU investigates unless] you really care about them. So I think it’s a mark for him, not against him.”

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “Combat Fatigue” Episode 25010 — Pictured: Peter Scanavino as A.D.A Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. — (Photo by: Scott Gries/NBC)

As the show heads into season 26 this fall, Scanavino is hoping to see more of Carisi’s professional growth…and potentially a crossover with another show in the LAW & ORDER universe.

“I would like to see him act with a little more independence from [his bosses on] the eighth floor—take on responsibility and really kind of just go to trial because that’s what he wants to do,” Scanavino says. “He’s definitely gotten his footing in this world now. And I hope that [we] can show more of that…he’s ready to take off.”

“I don’t know any other character that transitioned from one side to the other [between cops and lawyers],” he continues. “I think he still has—and he can turn it on and off—the kind of street cop sense. And he’s definitely not the typical polished ADA that you would see in LAW & ORDER, usually, so he brings this other thing to that as well. I think it’d be interesting to see him on [the] original LAW & ORDER if he had to collaborate on a case or something…to see some of his colleagues and how they would interact with each other would be interesting to me.”

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC

RELATED:

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page or our Instagram.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.

Filed under SVU

Comments Off on LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: Peter Scanavino Reflects on His First Decade with the Series and His Season 26 Hopes

Comments

Comments are closed.

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: Peter Scanavino Reflects on His First Decade with the Series and His Season 26 Hopes

Related Posts

Comments

Recent Posts

GMMR Favorites

Matched content