After 15 seasons starring as Detective Olivia Benson on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," Mariska Hargitay is getting a taste of what it's like on the other side of the camera as she makes her directorial debut.
Hargitay, 50, switched from actress to director this week as she spearheaded an episode of the TV crime drama set to air in the spring.
"It's a long time coming; I've wanted to do it for a while. There are a lot of things that I've learned and collected. I know how to get performances, I know what buttons to push in people and I've been doing it for a long time . . . Since I've been on 'SVU,' I get more joy, sometimes, from helping somebody else with their performance than my own,"
Hargitay told E! News about directing. "That's when I got the idea. It's just this idea of helping to tell the story or even help people get in touch, like how people help me to get to my soul. I'm up for the challenge. It feels like a natural progression."
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No word yet on what the theme of the episode will be but Alec Baldwin is reportedly guest starring, E! News reported.
"SVU" script supervisor Stephanie Marquardt tweeted out a photo of Hargitay at work.
Showrunner and executive producer Warren Leight also chronicled Hargitay's directorial debut.
"Law & Order: SVU" airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
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