ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi has a close-knit relationship with Olivia Benson onscreen, but so do Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actors Peter Scanavino and Mariska Hargitay.
“I think my relationship with Mariska really mirrors their relationship,” Scanavino, 44, told Us Weekly exclusively ahead of the SVU winter premiere on Thursday, January 16. “When I came on the show, I always respected her. I looked up to her as an actor and even as a friend. I think Carisi did as well, as a detective.”
When Scanavino joined SVU during the 16th season premiere in 2014, Carisi was an “inexperienced detective” and worked his way up within the squad. He’s since pivoted to being an ADA in the Law and Order universe.
“As their relationship has grown, so has mine with Mariska,” he continued. “It’s one of the most important relationships I have in my life. She’s one of my best friends. We can speak very honestly with each other in real life, just like Benson and Carisi can speak very honestly with each other.”
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Thursday’s winter premiere of SVU was semi Carisi-centric as the character deals with uncovering his trauma in the aftermath of the show’s November 2024 fall finale. The episode, titled “First Light,” is Carisi’s first time back in the courtroom after he was held at gunpoint at his local deli. During one scene — after declaring several times that he’s “fine” — Carisi seemingly blows the case after fumbling in court. He and Benson have a rather tense but rewarding heart-to-heart after the fact.
“That one scene in particular, it’s nice how it’s kind of followed that [journey]. It all feels very earned,” Scanavino told Us. “There was nothing forced, nothing pushed. It was just an organic relationship evolving into this thing where they’re very, very close now.”
Another relationship showcased during Thursday’s episode is, obviously, that of Carisi and his wife, Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish). Scanavino told Us that Carisi is “in good hands” with Rollins when it comes to overcoming these hard times.
The family scenes between him and Giddish featured in Thursday’s episode “feel very real” to Scanavino, he said.
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“I have a family and I think Carisi and myself are very similar in that way. I think we really prize family above all else,” he shared with Us. “Working with Kelli, who I have such respect for personally, and I just think Rollins as a character — who’s obviously been through a lot — she’s very well-suited to deal with somebody else going through something.”
Scanavino also said that he’s “not quite sure” how Carisi overcoming his trauma will play out as SVU season 26 continues.
“At the end of this episode, what you can see is that he’s starting on the path. The clouds have parted just momentarily and you can see a way forward,” he said. “We’ll see what happens if he gets confronted again with this. If he has to revisit this in a trial or whatever form that may take.”
Law & Order: SVU season 26 airs on NBC Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Peacock.
