Before Mariska Hargitay became a household name with her role on Law & Order: SVU, she had a varied career in movies and TV shows. One notable project that didn’t pan out for her was a role in a Power Rangers movie, from which she was fired before completing the shoot.
Hargitay made her film debut in 1984 with Ghoulies, playing the character Donna. The following year, she became a series regular on the drama Downtown, portraying Jesse Smith for 14 episodes from 1986 to 1987. In 1988, she had a recurring role as Carly Fixx on Falcon Crest and later appeared in Prince Street, ER, and Can’t Hurry Love. She joined the cast of Law & Order: SVU in 1999.
The Power Rangers Movie Fiasco
Hargitay revealed to Seth Meyers that she initially saw herself in comedies. “I did some stuff, a lot of sitcoms, and I thought, ‘This is going to be great,’” she shared. “I did about four [sitcoms] in a row. But I didn’t always have such a great working record.”
Her journey took an unexpected turn when she was cast in a Power Rangers movie, but things didn’t go as planned. She was excited about the role and flew to Australia to play a queen. “I get there, [I get] hair, makeup, prosthetic pieces, walking around like that, feeling pretty good. I was there for November and then December. And then we were getting close to Christmas. And they had me on hold a lot.”
As Christmas approached, Hargitay grew anxious about the prolonged hold and her desire to be with her family for the holidays. She expressed her concerns to the production team. “Finally, around December 21st, I said, ‘Hey guys, this is great, but you kept me on hold too long. I gotta go; it’s Christmas. I think that’s only fair. So, I go home. I fly home in December. January 3rd, I call them, and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m ready.’ And they’re like, ‘Sweetie, you’re good. Don’t worry about it.’ They fired me because I wanted to go home for Christmas and be with my family.”
Lessons Learned
Hargitay took away a valuable lesson from this experience. She humorously noted that on the set of Law & Order: SVU, she’s always on her best behavior. “Whenever they need me to be on the set, I’m there,” she said. After more than two decades on the series, it’s clear that this approach has worked well for her.
