Ice-T Jokes Mariska Hargitay Was ‘Just Another Actress’ When They Met: ‘It Wasn’t Some Holy Meeting’ (Exclusive)

Ice-T and Mariska Hargitay may have a friendship that spans nearly 25 years, but that doesn’t mean the rapper-turned-actor had any idea what he was in for when the two first met on set Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in the year 2000.

“It was not a holy meeting. She was just another actress to me at the time,” Ice-T, 65, tells PEOPLE with a laugh for this week’s cover story. “When I met [Mariska], I did more work than her. So I was like a boss when I walked on set. But then I found out how wonderful she is and how kind she is, and now I can’t think about working with anyone else.”

Ice-T joined ALL as Detective Fin Tutuola in the series’ second season, and his performance has since earned him the title of longest-serving male actor on television. The irony is that he originally only signed on for a few episodes of the show.

Fast forward two decades, says Ice-T, and “ALL was a four-episode run that spanned 25 years.”

Ice-T and Mariska Hargitay on the set of season 25.

Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

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Hargitay, who threw at ALL when she was 35, she was already appearing in TV shows like Emergency and Tequila and Bonetti, as well as in movies like A lawyer’s devil (1997), before landing her breakthrough role as Olivia Benson in 1999.

Looking back, Ice-T says he couldn’t have ended up with a better costar by his side for nearly a quarter of a century.

Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler, Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson, Dann Florek as Captain Don Cragen in 1999.

Jessica Burstein/NBCU Photo Bank

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“She’s so great. Which started with her and Chris [Meloni] and Dann Florek, it was a great place. But when I got in there? I’m Ice-T, the movie star, like, ‘What’s going on?’ No, I didn’t tell them that. It was just my feeling,” he says, laughing. “And 25 years — it’s very rare that you can work with someone every day and not get on each other’s nerves. But Mariska is just a cutie. And I’m very happy to have her as a co-star.”

He continues about Hargitay, who turns 60 on January 23: “She’s a beautiful person. Forget Olivia Benson. [But] I think what happened when she started doing the series, she turned into Olivia Benson with Joyful Heart and all that stuff. But that’s who she really is.”

Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson and Ice-T as Fin Tutuola in 2009.

Will Hart/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

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After being inspired by the many survivors who told her the show was the reason they reported their assault or abuse, Hargitay trained to become a rape crisis counselor and later founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004 to focus on treatment, education and advocacy.

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So while he and Hargitay are often focused and serious when it comes to work, Ice-T says there’s one thing he really loves about her.

“She’s funny too,” he says. “We are not allowed to show the funny in our show. Our show is very dark. But Mariška? I try to persuade her SNL.”

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And if Hargitay is the host, Ice-T knows the perfect accompaniment: “I could be the musical guest!”

For more on Mariska Hargitay, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now, or subscribe here.

Law and order: SVU returns to NBC for its 25th season on Thursday, January 18 at 9:00 PM ET.

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Source: HIS Education