Mariska Hargitay, the star of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, had a serendipitous encounter when she boarded a flight this week. She ran into a fan of the show wearing a tee shirt dedicated to it. That fan was Taylor Colson, a 27-year-old singer-songwriter.
Colson described her encounter with the actress and recalled her saying, “I was like, ‘Oh my god, wait — this is too funny,’ and I pointed to my shirt. She’s like, ‘What? Wait, I need to take a photo’.”
Colson was wearing a tee shirt dedicated to the NBC crime drama and posted a selfie of herself and Hargitay on social media. It quickly went viral, with nearly 200K likes on TikTok. In the post, Colson wrote, “WHEN YOU ARE WEARING YOUR SVU SHIRT & OLIVIA BENSON IS ON YOUR FLIGHT. mariska is my mother ???? #svu #dreamsdocometrue”.
After the impromptu meeting, Colson had only kind words about Hargitay and said that she is one of her “heroes” and “one of the nicest people” she’s ever met and “amazing.” She also said how ecstatic the star was over the merchandise.
“I’m living this dream out for all of you,” Colson concluded.
Hargitay has been playing the character of Detective Olivia Benson since 1999. She has said that it has been “a privilege to be part of something that’s truly ‘a vehicle for good’”. She also has also maintained a decades-long relationship with co-star, Christopher Meloni, who plays Detective Elliot Stabler.
Hargitay has said that their onscreen chemistry is effortless and a gift, “so much of it has to do with our shared sense of humor, shared perspective, our now history.”
“It’s effortless, and it’s weird, and I always look at it as some sort of gift,” Hargitay told PEOPLE at the 2022 Emmys speaking of her and her co-stars chemistry. “So much of it has to do with our shared sense of humor, shared perspective, our now history.”
The unexpected fan encounter was a fun experience for both. Colson was thrilled to meet one of her heroes, while Hargitay was thrilled to be able to meet a fan- especially one wearing an SVU shirt.
