Pretty soon TV viewers will see Mariska Hargitay in a role she\u2019s never played before, and it\u2019s one-night-only \u2013 host of the Primetime Emmy Awards. You might not immediately think of her as a comedian, but then neither does she, she tells Deadline.<\/p>\n
This fall, Hargitay returns for an astounding 28th season as Det. (now Capt.) Olivia Benson on NBC\u2019s Law & Order: SVU, but before that, on September 14th, Hargitay will take to the Emmys stage.<\/p>\n
The host slot often goes to performers with a comedy background: standup comic Nate Bargatze did the honors last year. The year before, the show was hosted by comedic actors Eugene Levy and Dan Levy. The last time the Emmys were on NBC, the ceremony was emceed by SNL veteran Kenan Thompson. Hargitay says she hasn\u2019t consulted previous hosts \u201cbecause I\u2019m not a comedian, so that\u2019s not my thing. I think I\u2019ll do it a little bit different than they would. And I think that they asked me to do it because of that. I think that they also want to switch it up a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019re doing something different this year, and I\u2019m excited about that. And I\u2019m allowing that\u2026 I\u2019m going to do the Mariska Emmys.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m at a place in my life where I am excited about doing new things. And if not now, when?\u201d Hargitay says. \u201cIt\u2019s such an extraordinary opportunity and I am excited about it. I\u2019m excited to see all the people. I\u2019m excited to celebrate people\u2019s work. I guess I don\u2019t really see it as about me. I see it about being part of something so historic.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds, \u201cI\u2019m sort of taking that pressure off myself because there\u2019s so many genius comedians out there that are just so funny and people that just I love and worship and truly make me so happy, but that\u2019s not what they wanted. And so we\u2019re doing something different this year, and I\u2019m excited about that. And I\u2019m allowing that\u2026 I\u2019m going to do the Mariska Emmys.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the September 12 Primetime Emmys approach, Hargitay shared insights on her preparations, including a collaboration with the staff of a newly unemployed late-night host.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at the beginning stages, and so we\u2019re throwing out a lot of different ideas,\u201d she notes. \u201cI\u2019m working with an incredible team of writers \u2014 the writers from Colbert\u2026 We\u2019ve been meeting a lot and discussing a lot and pitching a lot of ideas. We\u2019re pitching so many ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
I cannot tell you how many people \u2014 famous people \u2014 ask to be a dead body on SVU.<\/p>\n
One that\u2019s being discussed: a comedy bit with an SVU touch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot tell you how many people \u2014 famous people \u2014 ask to be a dead body on the show. It\u2019s a thing,\u201d Hargitay laughs. \u201cAnd it is so funny to me that that\u2019s what they want out of all the things\u2026 just to be a dead body. It\u2019s on their bucket list. That\u2019s one of the ideas that we were talking about. So, I don\u2019t know where it\u2019s going to go. We have all these ideas and now it\u2019s sort of picking the best and editing and cutting it and see what we\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starring on the uber-serious Law & Order: SVU might not seem like ideal preparation for an Emmy hosting romp. And yet\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you came to the set of SVU and you saw how we cope with things and the long hours and the subject matter, there\u2019s a lot of joking because it\u2019s a marathon,\u201d Hargitay relates. \u201cI think I\u2019ve always used humor to cope with everything. And so it\u2019s sort of more me than not, if you will. Olivia Benson is a character that I live in a box. That\u2019s a character. But if you knew me, I live in the comedy world. It\u2019s how I deal with things. So, this is maybe even more comfortable in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also serving Hargitay well \u2013 performing live in her Broadway debut over the summer in the play Every Brilliant Thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, I thought about that exact thing and I said, \u2018I don\u2019t know that I would\u2019ve agreed to host the Emmys if I hadn\u2019t just had that experience,\u2019\u201d she affirms. \u201cIt was interesting because I got the call to host the Emmys as I was backstage preparing to go on. It was a 3 o\u2019clock show on Sunday and I saw that my phone was ringing\u2026 I looked and it was Pearlena [Igbokwe], head of NBC, and I was like, \u2018Why is she calling me on a Sunday? Is everything OK?\u2019 And the fact that I was in my dressing room preparing to go out to do this live thing and doing something that was so foreign to me before I did it and something I was terrified at doing, but so excited about \u2014 two, three things can be true at once.\u201d<\/p>\n