Mariska Hargitay has been a cornerstone of television since 1999, portraying the iconic character Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Over the course of more than two decades, Hargitay has showcased her ability to recognize promising talent, as “Special Victims Unit” has featured numerous guest stars who later became household names. The show has boasted appearances from luminaries such as Cynthia Nixon, Carol Burnett, Robin Williams, Martin Short, and Amanda Seyfried. Notably, future “Hamilton” stars Daveed Diggs and Leslie Odom Jr. appeared in a Season 17 episode just before their Broadway success. Hargitay herself highlighted two guest actors who left a lasting impression on her before they achieved widespread fame.

Mariska Hargitay has been starring on the massively popular spin-off series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since 1999 as Olivia Benson, a detective at the titular Special Victims Unit in New York City who eventually becomes the entire squad’s captain. This is to say that, after well over two decades starring on a network series that hosts a ton of guest stars, Hargitay has gained a good eye for talent. “Special Victims Unit” has famously played host to some of Hollywood’s brightest stars over the years, including but not limited to Cynthia Nixon, Carol Burnett, Robin Williams, Martin Short, and Amanda Seyfried. Really, the show is a “who’s who” of performers; hilariously, future “Hamilton” stars Daveed Diggs and Leslie Odom Jr. showed up in the same Season 17 episode before Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical became a sensation and earned both of them Tony awards. According to Hargitay herself, two guest actors who appeared on NBC’s procedural series way before they gained fame and acclaim really, really impressed her.

One of those standout performances came in the September 2004 episode titled “Birthright,” which marked the Season 6 premiere of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” In this gripping episode, a young Abigail Breslin played Patty Branson, a girl almost abducted in Central Park. As detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) delve into the case, they uncover a tangled web involving Patty’s parents and a woman named Michelle Osborne (Lea Thompson), who believes Patty is her biological daughter—a suspicion that turns out to be true. Breslin’s portrayal, at just seven years old, captivated Hargitay with her professionalism and innate talent.

By 2006, Breslin had captivated audiences in “Little Miss Sunshine,” earning an Academy Award nomination at the tender age of ten. Since then, her career has flourished, with roles in films and series such as “Zombieland,” “My Sister’s Keeper,” “Scream Queens,” and “Final Girl,” showcasing her versatility and confirming the promise she showed early in her career.

“She was so young on the show,” Hargitay recalled of Breslin’s professionalism and versatility at such a young age (she was only seven years old at the time of filming). “She kept doing this dance between takes, some kind of dance, and I started doing it with her,” she continued. “It was some kind of nursery rhyme schtick. I don’t know what it was, but I would just do it with her, and then they would say ‘Action,’ and I swear to God, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.” Then, according to Hargitay, Breslin would return to her silliness once cameras stopped rolling.

In 2006, Breslin led a talented ensemble cast in “Little Miss Sunshine,” which earned her an Oscar nomination at just 10 years old. Since then, you’ve probably seen Breslin in projects like “Zombieland,” “My Sister’s Keeper,” “Scream Queens,” and “Final Girl,” just to name a few.

As for Meghann Fahy, who played a majorly pivotal role in the Season 16 episode “Downloaded Child” in 2014, Mariska Hargitay said that she saw similar starpower in the actress — who didn’t get her big break on “The Bold Type” until 2017. “Another person that I called it, I remember saying it to her, is Meghann Fahy,” Hargitay mused. “When she did the show, I was like, ‘Let me tell you something. I’m just gonna tell you right now, you’re gonna be a big movie star. You’re gonna be a huge star.’”

In “Downloaded Child,” Fahy plays young single mother Jenny Aschler, who leaves her daughter Maddie (Ella Anderson) alone in their apartment for multiple days rather than trusting anyone else to take care of her. Held accountable for child endangerment, Jenny accuses her husband Gary of being violent, which turns out to be true … and there’s something much darker at play here. Eventually, Olivia and her squad discover that not only was Jenny sexually abused when she was younger, explicit images of Jenny as a child were distributed as child pornography to countless men.

“I don’t like use that word ‘star’ because what does that even mean?” Hargitay told Amy Poehler, praising Fahy. “But I just recognized her talent, light, and she was so sparkly, internally, like an internal sparkle… It’s so exciting to see them go on and go, ‘I called it. I called it!’” Hargitay was right; besides “The Bold Type,” Fahy gained fame and acclaim for her Emmy-nominated role on Season 2 of “The White Lotus” and went on to lead projects like “Drop,” “Sirens,” and “The Perfect Couple.”

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is streaming on Hulu and Peacock.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.