‘Law & Order’ Cast: Season 22

Jeffrey Donovan

as Senior Detective Frank Cosgrove

“Law & Order” series regular as of Season 21

NBC bio:

Donovan is perhaps best known for his leading work as former CIA operative Michael Westen on the Emmy Award-nominated USA series “Burn Notice” for seven seasons. Donovan received strong notice playing North Dakota off-kilter mobster Dodd Gerhardt in FX’s critically acclaimed second season of Noah Hawley’s “Fargo” and was cast as series lead Charlie Haverford, a tarot reading con-artist, on Hulu’s “Shut Eye.”

On the film side, Donovan recently filmed a sequence of back-to-back films – “National Champions” for director Ric Roman Waugh and starring opposite J.K Simmons; the Western ”Surrounded,” opposite Letitia Wright and Jamie Bell; the hostage drama “892,” opposite John Boyega and Michael Kenneth Williams; and the family drama “First Love,” opposite Diane Kruger. Past features include “Wrath of Man” for director Guy Ritchie, “Let Him Go,” alongside Kevin Costner and Diane Lane; and Noah Hawley’s “Lucy in the Sky,” alongside Natalie Portman and Jon Hamm. 

His other film credits include “Soldado,” opposite Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro; “Villains,” opposite Bill Skarsgård and Kyra Sedgwick; and “Honest Thief,” opposite Liam Neeson,” Denis Villeneuve’s “Sicario,” Clint Eastwood’s “J. Edgar” (playing Robert F. Kennedy) and “The Changeling,” Rob Reiner’s “LBJ” (as John F. Kennedy) and Ric Waugh’s “Shotcaller.”

Mehcad Brooks

as Junior Detective Jalen Shaw

“Law & Order” series regular as of Season 22

Brooks got his acting start in the early 2000s on various TV series including “Malcolm in the Middle and “Cold Case.” His breakthrough role was as Matthew Applewhite in “Desperate Housewives,” and he later endeared himself to horror fans as Eggs in “True Blood.” Brooks joined up with “Law & Order” in Season 22, stepping in on the “Law” side of things when Anthony Anderson’s departure left an opening.

Camryn Manheim

as Lieutenant Kate Dixon

“Law & Order” series regular as of Season 21

NBC bio:

Manheim is best-known for her Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning role on “The Practice” as well as roles on “Stumptown,” “Waco,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Person of Interest,” “Utopia,” “Criminal Minds,” “Code Black,” “Masters of Sex,” “Two and a Half Men,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Extant,” “Chicago Hope,” “Harry’s Law,” “Younger,” “Hand of God,” “The L Word,” “Will & Grace,” “Ally McBeal,” “Family Guy” and “The 10th Kingdom,” among others. 

Manheim was also nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Gladys Presley in the CBS mini- series “Elvis.”

Her feature film credits include “Cop Car,” “Return to Sender,” “Slipstream,” “An Unfinished Life,” “Without Men,” “Twisted,” “Scary Movie Three,” “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion,” “Happiness,” “The Laramire Project,” “Dark Water,” “The Road to Wellville” and “Eraser.” 

Manheim made her Broadway debut in Deaf West’s Tony Award-nominated production of “Spring Awakening.” She also won an Obie Award for Craig Lucas’ “Missing Persons” at the Atlantic Theater Co. She received her M.F.A from New York University.

Hugh Dancy

as Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price

“Law & Order” series regular as of Season 21

NBC bio:

Dancy received critical acclaim for starring as Will Graham in NBC’s “Hannibal,” receiving two Critics’ Choice Award nominations for Best Actor in a Drama Series. He also starred in Hulu’s “The Path” opposite Aaron Paul and Michelle Michelle Monaghan and most recently wrapped production on the Apple TV+ anthology series “Roar” with Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo and Issa Rae. 

Dancy will next star in the upcoming film “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” which Focus Features will release in theaters in March.

Odelya Halevi

as Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun

“Law & Order” series regular as of Season 21

NBC bio:

Halevi most recently landed a major role in the DC Entertainment film “Black Adam,” opposite Dwayne Johnson, set for release in 2022. Additionally, Halevi just wrapped a major recurring role on Freeform’s “Good Trouble” as well as a pivitol role in the Amazon series “Good Girls Revolt.” 

Notable guest-star credits include “New Girl,” “Mike and Molly,” Midnight, Texas,” “NCIS,” MacGyver” and “Why Women Kill.” Halevi’s grandparents immigrated to Israel from Yemen where she was born and raised.

Sam Waterston

as District Attorney Jack McCoy

“Law & Order” series regular as of Season 5

NBC bio:

Waterston was born in 1940 in Cambridge, Mass., where his father was a language teacher and his mother a landscape painter. He attended Brooks and Groton prep schools before earning a scholarship to Yale University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962. Later that year, Waterston made his New York debut at the Phoenix Theater in “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad.”

Over the next five decades, Waterston’s career has included a plethora of film and television credits as well as repeated returns to the stage. His trophy case includes an Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as an OBIE and Drama Desk for theater. Other accolades include an Academy Award nomination for his role as journalist Sydney Schanberg in 1984’s “The Killing Fields” and six Emmy nominations for his roles in “I’ll Fly Away” and “Law & Order.”

Waterston co-starred on Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom” for HBO and soon can be seen in the final season of Netflix’s “Grace and Frankie,” opposite Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Martin Sheen. In 2022 Waterson will be featured in the Hulu limited series “The Dropout,” opposite Amanda Seyfried and William H Macy.

Connie Shi

as Detective Violet Yee

“Law & Order” guest star as of Season 22

Shi appeared in various shorts and TV shows in the mid-2010s until getting her big break as Melanie Bizne$$ in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” More recently, her appearances as Robin in “And Just Like That” and Sarah in “Betty” eventually led to her recurring “Law & Order” guest stint.

Mariska Hargitay

as Captain Olivia Benson

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” crossover guest star

NBC bio:

Hargitay won an Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Drama, a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series, four Gracie Allen Awards and a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Drama TV Star for her portrayal of Olivia Benson. She also earned an additional seven Emmy nominations and six SAG Award nominations for the role. She was honored with the Crystal Nymph Award at the Monte Carlo TV Festival and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to the star of her mother, screen legend Jayne Mansfield.

Hargitay’s role on “SVU” awakened her to burdens that survivors of trauma often carry: the weight of shame, judgement and isolation. Inspired by their courage, she founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004, whose mission is to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever. At the heart of their advocacy work is the “End the Backlog” campaign, which aims to eliminate the backlog of hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits sitting in storage across America, so that survivors can get the closure they deserve.  She subsequently produced “I Am Evidence,” an HBO documentary film on the topic that was nominated for a Peabody Award and won the 2019 Emmy Award for Best Documentary.

Kelli Giddish

as Detective Amanda Rollins

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” crossover guest star

NBC bio:

Born and raised in Cumming, Ga., Giddish began acting at an early age and was a staple in her high school’s theater department. Additionally, Giddish was an all-star athlete and member of the school’s championship winning softball team. Giddish attended the University of Evansville in Indiana, where, as a senior, she was an Irene Ryan Award finalist and was thus selected to perform at the Kennedy Center. She graduated with honors with a degree in performance arts.

Upon her move to New York, Giddish quickly gained work as an actress appearing in Matt Smart’s “Shoes,” was opposite Farrah Fawcett in “Bobbi Boland” and in her self-written, one-woman show “Dropsy.” In 2005, she made her small screen debut in “All My Children.” During this time, she starred in the critically acclaimed online series “The Burg” and made a guest appearance on “Law & Order: SVU.”

Peter Scanavino

as Assistant District Attorney Dominick Carisi Jr.

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” crossover guest star

NBC bio:

Born and raised in Colorado and after briefly studying in Boston, Scanavino caught a bus to New York where he has remained ever since.

Scanavino has worked extensively in theater with credits that include the Tony Award-nominated “Shining City” on Broadway as well as revivals of Eric Bogosian’s “subUrbia” and Howard Korder’s “Boy’s Life,” both at Manhattan’s Second Stage Theater. Most recently, Scanavino appeared in the New York premiere of the Simon Stephens play “Harper Regan” at the Atlantic Theater Company.

Christopher Meloni

as Detective Elliot Stabler

“Law & Order: Organized Crime” crossover guest star

NBC bio:

Meloni last co-starred in the Hulu comedy “Maxxx” and SYFY’s dark comedy “Happy!” based on Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson’s graphic novel. In addition to appearing on screen, he directed an episode and executive produced the series. He also appeared in the third season of the critically acclaimed Hulu series “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Other roles include FX’s “Pose” and “Underground,” where he also directed an episode. 

Following his breakout role on “NYPD Blue,” Meloni was cast in HBO’s gritty prison drama “Oz” and then moved on to “Law & Order: SVU,” where he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Following his 12 seasons on “SVU,” 
Meloni returned to HBO in Alan Ball’s wildly popular drama “True Blood” and the Julie Louis-Dreyfus-starrer “Veep.”  

Meloni’s film credits include “Diary of a Teenage Girl,” “White Bird in a Blizzard,” “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,” “Man of Steel,” “42,” “They Came Together,” the Terry Gilliam films “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Twelve Monkeys,” “Bound,” “Runaway Bride,”  “Nights in Rodanthe,” “Carriers” and the cult favorites “Wet Hot American Summer,” “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” and its first sequel, “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.” 

Ainsley Seiger

as Detective Jet Slootmaekers

“Law & Order: Organized Crime” crossover guest star

NBC bio:

A North Carolina native, Seiger is a graduate of UNC School of the Arts where she majored in drama. Some of her most prominent stage productions from UNCSA include “Spring Awakening,” “Top Girls” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City.”

When she isn’t on stage or in front of the camera, Seiger likes to spend her time baking, playing video games and online shopping until she can’t feel her hands.