After 10 seasons and 240 episodes, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit casting director Jonathan Strauss estimates he's hired nearly 10,000 actors for a smattering of speaking roles over the last 11 years. And while many guest stars never graduate to the big leagues, SVU has, like the Law & Order mothership before it, served as the launching pad for a dizzying array of stars who've gone on to win Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys.
BuzzFeed sat down with Strauss in his offices on Manhattan's Chelsea Piers, on the Hudson River, to reminisce about 13 actors who got their acting start, or revitalized their careers, on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.