Dick Wolf’s Law & Order: SVU owns the title of the longest-running live action scripted TV series with 25 seasons and counting. Although it’s a spin-off of the original 1990 Law & Order, the series following sexually based offenses has since outlived its predecessor. While Wolf’s original series ended in 2010, SVU is in the middle of its historic 25th season. Through the course of two decades and over 500 episodes, guest stars of all calibers and genres have left their stamp on the series.

From young child stars to the seasoned veteran, chances are they’ve crossed across the SVU stage. The list is extensive and runs across many years. For this piece we’ll focus on guest stars in Law & Order: SVU who had more than just a 60 second cameos. We’ll also be excluding actors who played a recurring role. Sorry J.K. Simmons, nothing personal!

Bradley Cooper (Season 6, Episode 20)

Pre-Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper is a prime example of an actor featuring before their big break. Cooper would have to wait until 2009 for the release of The Hangover to experience the royal treatment.

Before that, Bradley Cooper donned the suit and tie as Alfred Molina’s cunning defense attorney. Cooper’s appearance was the result of a double-feature crossover with Law & Order: Trial by Jury. In a special that also featured Angela Lansbury, Bradley Cooper had to share the guest spotlight. His contributing performance was still strong enough to make this two part special a fan favorite.

Hilary Duff (Season 10, Episode 19)

SVU has always dared to push actors beyond their acting capacities. They’ve even done it with former child actors. Long after appearing on the Lizzie McGuire series and A Cinderella Story, Hilary Duff plays a careless mother on this episode. Departing from the model Disney standup image, Hilary’s performance is nothing short of captivating.

The premise of this episode loosely follows the real-life case of Casey Anthony. This episode has an ambivalent ending that opens up a larger debate of ethics. The topic in this follows the liberties surrounding vaccination. Duff’s portrayal of remorse and secrecy involving the death of her 11-month-old baby makes the audience forget she was ever once the clumsy middle school girl.

Sarah Paulson (Season 11, Episode 12)

Few actors are marked by certain characteristics that they carry throughout their acting career. Even though it would be a while before Sarah Paulson earned the title of the unhinged scream queen, early roots of her acting style were shown here. Paulson plays Anne Gillette, a pampered lady who makes a crafty attempt to play the SVU squad. Under the guise of claiming to have a stalker, the squad later learns the claim was a red herring in order to mask the murder of her parents. The criminal being Paulson’s character of course.

It’s no surprise the deranged and disturbed performance by Paulson is able to mirror her work in American Horror Story.

Kyle MacLachan (Season 6, Episode 6)

Few actors have been guest stars in Law & Order: SVU throughout multiple episodes. Two have made our list. The first one is none other than Mr. Twin Peaks himself, Dale Cooper. Across his appearances MacLachan plays the unfortunate father who loses his son on both occasions. “Conscience” is the one that stand out.

MacLachan plays Dr. Brett Morton, a psychiatrist whose son dies at the hands of an adolescent teenager. Trying to make sense of the devious sociopathic murderer, the audience is captivated in MacLachan’s aura. That’s why the ending is equally satisfying and comical. Pushed to the edge by the verdict in court and an awful remark by the child turned murderer, MacLachan gives SVU fanatics a moment etched in history.

Dr. Morton in all his rage takes a gun from an unsuspecting court officer and shoots the teenager at pointblank range. Showing some remorse, Dr. Morton makes the distinction that he’ll never kill again. He was sure if the kid was let free, he probably couldn’t say the same. The audience is inclined to believe him, but it’s MacLachan’s acting prowess that makes them at least contextualize his actions.

Ludacris (Season 7, Episode 18 and Season 8, Episode 22)

Acting outside of your range and style is one thing. Coming in to act from another field is on a whole other ball game. That’s what make Ludacris’ performance across his two episodes so special. Although he wasn’t new to acting, his work was primarily in the music industry.

You can say Ludacris’ character, Darius, is complex and layered. That’s a massive understatement. Darius is not your run-of-the-mill perp. He also happens to be Detective Tutuola’s nephew. With this familial tie, it’s a harrowing journey to see how his actions affect Fin as well as the other members of the squad. Darius even manages to create a rift within the group.

Darius is accused of killing his girlfriend and infant baby. At a point where it would see like the court would find him guilty, he manages to get key pieces of evidence and admissions of guilt thrown out. Such is the case of intricacies and loopholes of the court system.

Ludacris is able to shine outside of his roles in acting that are mostly unserious. You might not get that impression from Ludacris if this is your first time seeing his acting roles. Especially if you’ve mostly seen him in the Fast & Furious franchise. See how the latest film in the franchise, Fast X, fared in the reviews.

Carrying similar charism to Kyle MacLachan, you might be inclined to feel sorry for Darius. It’s for these reasons that this two episode special has near-infinite replay value.

Shine on, guest stars!

Dick Wolf’s series has a wonderful ability. Guest stars in Law & Order have been able to broaden their skills in a new light. Working under fictitious circumstances, personalities of all kinds have been able to shine bright on the screen. Check any actor’s IMDb credits and chances are they’ll have a Law & Order credit of some sort.

These five are just a few of our favorites. What guest star on Law & Order: SVU has left the biggest impression on you? Let us know down below!