One Actress Appeared On Law & Order SVU Before Landing A Recurring Role But No One Noticed
Look out for the doubles, you might be surprised!
Hiring some actors two or three times for the same show is not unheard of: most production companies, studios, and networks have their own pool of extras who are ready to answer the call and take any part they are offered.
The larger shows with more active fandoms, such as Supernatural, have had a list of all their doubles for years.
It is especially not surprising to see a fair usage of doubles on the show, when it has been around for as many years as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has. Some of the extras may appear more than once in completely different roles, and viewers won't even remember them if the episodes are far enough apart.
However, there is one actress who actually made quite a promotion from appearing as a victim in season 8 to getting a full recurring role as the detective 5 years later.
Kelli Giddish, who played Detective Amanda Rollins on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since Season 13, made her first appearance in January 2007 as Kara Bawson in an episode called Outsider. The thing is, Dick Wolf's TV universe was already so good at recycling actors and making them reappear that most fans didn't even notice.
Although Giddish stands out the most, she wasn't the only one who played two (or even more) different people on the show. Just to name a few examples: Peter Scanavino appeared as Johnny Dubcek before he was Dominick Carisi, and Diane Neal appeared as Amelia Chase before she was Casey Novak.
Fans are more than okay with such appearances, treating them more like Easter eggs than laziness or production flaws.
As long as it doesn't really affect the quality of the show or interfere with the storyline, everyone is fine with seeing a familiar face here and there. Besides, it just creates more things to do while the show takes a break before the next season.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been renewed by the network for a 25th season, but there's no official word on when it will premiere. So stay tuned for news and behind-the-scenes updates!