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Since it first premiered in 1990, Law & Order has been captivating audiences with its take on crime, drama, and emotional court cases. The long-running procedural drama has become its own franchise, spanning several spin-offs (including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which began airing in 1999), a made-for-TV movie, and even video games.
Law & Order has also been a launching pad for many actors, some of who have become household names after appearing on the show for a spell. Watching a rerun of the series, especially an older one, has a high chance of recognizing the criminal of the week because they ended up somewhere in the MCU or the vast galaxy of Star Wars later in their career.
A show with as many episodes as Law & Order acquires a ton of guest stars, and given how many actors appear on the show, it can sometimes feel like every celebrity has made an appearance at some point. That said, some stars have been on Law & Order, who you may not expect. Here are 10 of our favorite guest stars before they were famous and the episodes they appeared in.
Pedro Pascal (Season 18, Episode 10: “Tango”)
Long before Pedro Pascal starred in The Mandalorian or The Last of Us, he appeared on Law & Order as the dastardly Tito Cabassa, a pimp who was the prime suspect in a murder case after the death of a teenager. Pascal actually appeared in several episodes across the Law & Order universe, both before and after this episode, with his last appearance in a 2011 episode of Law & Order: SVU as a federal special agent. Shortly after that appearance, Pascal would guest star in Game of Thrones as Oberyn Martell, a breakout role for the actor.
Sarah Paulson (Season 5, Episode 4: “Family Values”)
In her first acting role, a young Sarah Paulson plays a teenage girl on trial for the murder of her mother. During the trial, she reveals that she was having an affair with her stepfather, and when her mother found out about the matter, the stepfather killed her by accident. Paulson’s performance was highly praised, and she would go on to become an American Horror Story mainstay in recent years. Like Pascal, Paulson returned to the franchise, playing a different character in a 2010 episode of Law & Order: SVU.
Idris Elba (Season 12, Episode 9: “3 Dawg Night”)
Idris Elba appeared in a 2001 episode as a nightclub owner who, after a promising young musician was shot during a night out, is questioned about the incident. Elba’s character would eventually provide the critical information that helps solve the case. Just a year later, Elba would star as Stringer Bell in The Wire, the role that would put him on the map, and would later appear in movies like Prometheus and Thor. Unlike the previous actors, Elba hasn’t appeared in any other Law & Order episodes.
Zoe Saldana (Season 9, Episode 24: “Refuge: Part 2”)
Before she starred in Star Trek and Guardians of the Galaxy, Zoe Saldana appeared in this episode of Law & Order, serving as her first television role. Saldana plays a guest role in the second part of the season finale as Bellinda, a young woman who helps the NYPD identify her sister’s husband. She continued to work steadily in Hollywood (even appearing in a 2004 episode of Law & Order: SVU) and would land her breakout role in 2009 as Uhura in the Star Trek movies.
Chadwick Boseman (Season 14, Episode 16: “Can I Get A Witness”)
Best known for his role as T-Challa in Black Panther and several other fan-favorite MCU films, Chadwick Boseman appeared in a season 14 Law & Order episode as Foster Keyes. Years later, he would land his breakthrough role as Jackie Robinson in the biopic 42. He continued to land roles playing historical figures, like singer James Brown in 2014’s Get On Up, but it’s his portrayal of Black Panther that made him a household name. Boseman passed from colon cancer in 2020, a light gone out far too soon.
Laverne Cox (Season 19, Episode 6: “Sweetie”)
In 2008, Laverne Cox not only appeared on Law & Order but also guest starred on an episode of SVU as a gym manager. In this episode, Cox plays Minnie, a sex worker who an undercover Deputy Lupo uses to gain information about a possible murder suspect. In 2013, Cox starred in the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black as inmate Sophia Burset and most recently appeared in Inventing Anna.
Adam Driver (Season 20, Episode 15: “Brilliant Disguise”)
Adam Driver appeared in this Season 20 episode as a medical research lab technician who ends up as the initial suspect in a young woman’s murder. He also gives us a preview of his performance in Marriage Story when he screams at some coworkers over the right way to take care of lab rats — he certainly can play an angry character well. Soon after this episode, Driver would land a breakout role in the HBO show Girls before landing the role of Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequels.
Jennifer Garner (Season 6, Episode 23: “Aftershock”)
In this early Law & Order episode, Jennifer Garner plays a graduate student named Jamie, who flirts with Rey Curtis when he’s forced to take a day off. Despite Curtis being very much a married man, he ignores his wife’s phone calls in order to spend time with Jamie. After this episode, Garner would go on to play the lead role in Alias and star in movies like 13 Going on 30, Pearl Harbor, Elektra, and Juno.
Samuel L. Jackson (Season 1, Episode 14: “Violence of Summer”)
Samuel L. Jackson appeared as a defense attorney named Louis Taggert in this 1991 episode of Law & Order. When he appeared on the show, Jackson was already getting regular work on television but had yet to land a breakout role (and, given this clip, yet to develop the voice that would become his signature). That would come a few years later when he played Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino’s classic Pulp Fiction, earning an Academy Award nomination. He’s gone on to star in blockbuster films like the Star Wars prequels and in several MCU films as Nick Fury.
Timothée Chalamet (Season 19, Episode 10: “Pledge”)
In this really dark episode, a young Timothée Chalamet plays the child of two scientists who, along with his family’s housekeeper, is the victim of a brutal murder. After making his television debut in Law & Order, Chalamet worked steadily in TV and film until his big break in 2017, when he was cast in a supporting role in Ladybird and a lead role in Call Me By Your Name. The latter earned him an Academy Award nomination, and his star has only continued to rise with roles in Little Women, Bones and All, and Dune.
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