My Favorite Actors in the Law & Order Universe
by Ocean_Breeze | created - 28 Feb 2011 | updated - 02 Apr 2015 | PublicMy favorite actors and actresses in the Law & Order Universe, all incarnations seen by me, from the Mothership to the UK version.
1. Sam Waterston
Actor | The Killing Fields
Sam Waterston was born on November 15, 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Killing Fields (1984), The Great Gatsby (1974) and Law & Order (1990). He has been married to Lynn Louisa Woodruff since January 26, 1976. They have three children. He was ...
Executive Assistant District Attorney/District Attorney John "Jack" McCoy
2. Vincent D'Onofrio
Actor | Men in Black
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio was born on June 30, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York, to Phyllis, a restaurant manager and server, and Gene D'Onofrio, a theatre production assistant and interior designer. He is of Italian descent and has two older sisters. He studied at the Actors Studio and the American ...
Detective Robert "Bobby" Goren
3. S. Epatha Merkerson
Actress | Law & Order
A native of Michigan, S. Epatha Merkerson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Wayne State University. In 1978, she moved to New York City to apply her craft on stage. Although best known since 1993 as the smart and shrewd Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the long-running TV crime drama Law &...
Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
4. Jerry Orbach
Actor | Law & Order
Jerry Orbach was born in the Bronx, New York, the only child of Leon Orbach, a former vaudevillian actor, was a German Jewish immigrant, who was born in Hamburg, Germany, and Emily (nee Olexy), a radio singer, was born in Pennsylvania to immigrant Polish-Lithuanian Roman Catholic parents, Alexander...
Detective Leonard "Lennie" Briscoe
5. Richard Belzer
Actor | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
A social misfit, was kicked out of every school he ever attended, due to his uncontrollable wit. His mother (Frances) died of breast cancer when Richard was 18. His father (Charles) committed suicide when he was 22. A dedication is written to him in Richard Belzer's "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: ...
Sargeant John Munch
6. Jesse L. Martin
Actor | Rent
Jesse Martin was born Jesse Lamont Watkins in Virginia's Blue Ridge mountain range. His mother, Virginia Price, was a college career counselor. His father, Jesse Reed Watkins, was a truck driver. His parents divorced when he was very young. His mother then moved his family to Buffalo, New York. He ...
Detective Edward "Ed" Green
7. Courtney B. Vance
Actor | The Hunt for Red October
From studying history at Harvard, and acting at Yale Drama School, to making history in Hollywood, Courtney B. Vance has carefully cultivated an exceptional career that showcases his passion, talent, and intellect. His penchant for successfully finding the dignity and honor in each character ...
Assistant District Attorney Ronald "Ron" Carver
8. Jill Hennessy
Actress | Crossing Jordan
Jill Hennessy can be seen starring in Showtime's "City on a Hill" with Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge, executive produced by Tom Fontana and Ben Affleck. Jill starred in the special event series "Shots Fired" by Gina Prince-Bythewood with Sanaa Lathan and Stephan James on FOX and was the lead in the ...
Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid
9. Angie Harmon
Actress | Agent Cody Banks
Angela Michelle Harmon is an American actress and model from Dallas, Texas. She is known for her work on Agent Cody Banks, Baywatch Nights, Law & Order, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Women's Murder Club, Seraphim Falls and Rizzoli & Isles. She was married to Jason Sehorn and has three ...
Assistant District Attorney Abigail "Abbie" Carmichael
10. Diane Neal
Actress | Ann Rule's Circle of Deception
Diane Neal was born in Alexandria, Virginia. She moved to Littleton, Colorado, when her father was promoted to the position of federal attorney in Denver. She is the youngest of three daughters. Diane was a pre-med major in University, before leaving to pursue modeling, thus allowing her to travel ...
Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak
11. Tamara Tunie
Actress | Flight
Tamara Tunie was born on March 14, 1959 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Flight (2012), The Devil's Advocate (1997) and Snake Eyes (1998). She was previously married to Gregory Generet and Greg Bouquett.
Dr. Melinda Warner, Medical Examiner
12. Mariska Hargitay
Actress | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Mariska (Ma-rish-ka) Magdolna Hargitay was born on January 23, 1964, in Santa Monica, California. Her parents are Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield. She is the youngest of their three children. In June 1967, Mariska and her brothers Zoltan and Mickey Jr. were in the back seat of a car when it was...
Detective Olivia Benson
13. Jamey Sheridan
Actor | Spotlight
Virile, fair-haired, set-jawed actor Jamey Sheridan was born (on July 12, 1951) and raised in Pasadena, California. He turned to acting after a knee injury ended his pursuit of a dancing career.
Beginning professionally on stage in 1978, he gained some momentum into the next decade and eventually ...
Captain James Deakins
14. Benjamin Bratt
Actor | Miss Congeniality
The middle of five children, Bratt hails from a close-knit family. His mother, an indigenous Quechua Peruvian from Lima, moved to the U.S. at age 14. He grew up in San Francisco. He is known for his roles in the films Traffic (2000), Miss Congeniality (2000), and Despicable Me 2 (2013). He is ...
Detective Reynaldo "Rey" Curtis
15. Bradley Walsh
Actor | Coronation Street
Bradley Walsh was born on June 4, 1960 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Coronation Street (1960), Law & Order: UK (2009) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007). He has been married to Donna Derby since 1997. They have one child.
Detective Sargeant Ronnie Brooks
16. Ice-T
Actor | New Jack City
The legendary gangsta hip-hop emcee Ice-T was born Tracy Marrow on February 16, 1958, in Newark, New Jersey. He moved to Los Angeles, California, to live with his paternal aunt after the death of his father while he was in the sixth grade; his mother had died earlier when he was in the third grade....
Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola
17. Alfred Molina
Actor | Spider-Man 2
Alfred Molina was born in 1953 in London, England. His mother, Giovanna (Bonelli), was an Italian-born cook and cleaner, and his father, Esteban Molina, was a Spanish-born waiter and chauffeur. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. His stage work includes two major Royal ...
Detective Ricardo Morales
18. Christopher Meloni
Actor | Man of Steel
Blessed with a piercing, blue-eyed glint, brawny looks, cocky "tough guy" stance and effortless charisma, TV's Christopher Meloni has grabbed audiences' attention, male and female alike, finding breakthrough small screen stardom playing both sides of the law. Audiences first were taken in by his ...
Detective Elliott Stabler
19. Linus Roache
Actor | Mandy
Linus Roache began his acting career with a two-week appearance as a young Barlow on Coronation Street (1960) at the age of 11. He also played a boy with the bubonic plague in The Onedin Line (1971). He spent much of the next two decades on stage. In 1986 he had brief appearances in a few films, ...
Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter
20. Jeremy Sisto
Actor | Wrong Turn
Jeremy Sisto was born in Northern California, in a small town called Grass Valley. He is the son of actress Reedy Gibbs and jazz musician Dick Sisto. His film debut was in the movie Grand Canyon (1991). He studied at UCLA for a while and then started acting full time. Jeremy likes to play boccie (...
Detective Cyrus "Lupes" Lupo
21. Eric Bogosian
Actor | Talk Radio
Eric Bogosian was born in Boston and grew up in Woburn, Massachusetts. After graduating from Woburn Memorial High School in 1971, he attended the University of Chicago and graduated from Oberlin College in 1976, whereupon he moved to New York City. In New York he was hired by the Kitchen as an ...
Captain Danny Ross
22. BD Wong
Actor | Jurassic Park
BD Wong was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He made his Broadway debut in "M. Butterfly." He is the only actor to be honored with the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Theater World Award for the same performance. He starred in the ...
Dr. George Huang, Psychiatrist
23. Dann Florek
Actor | Hard Rain
Born (May 1, 1950) and raised in Flat Rock, Michigan, the son of a chiropractor, bald-domed, serious-looking Dann Harvey Florek majored in math and physics at Eastern Michigan University. A drama scholarship, however, changed his destiny and he left the college before graduating. He moved to New ...
Captain Donald Cragen
24. Freema Agyeman
Actress | Doctor Who
Freema Agyeman is a British actress who is known for playing Martha Jones in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (2007-2010), Alesha Phillips in crime procedural drama Law & Order: UK (2009-2011), Amanita Caplan in the Netflix science fiction drama Sense8 (2015-2018), and Dr. Helen Sharpe in ...
Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips
25. Harriet Walter
Actress | Sense and Sensibility
Dame Harriet Mary Walter DBE is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) ...
Detective Inspector Natalie Chandler
26. Fred Thompson
Actor | The Hunt for Red October
Fred Thompson was born on August 19, 1942 in Sheffield, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for The Hunt for Red October (1990), No Way Out (1987) and Baby's Day Out (1994). He was married to Jeri Kehn Thompson and Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey. He died on November 1, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
District Attorney Arthur Branch
27. Jamie Bamber
Actor | Battlestar Galactica
Jamie Saint John Bamber Griffith known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in Battlestar Galactica and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in the ITV series Law & Order: UK. He also had a supporting role as 2nd Lt. Jack Foley in the HBO miniseries Band of...
Detective Sargeant Matt Devlin
28. J.K. Simmons
Actor | Whiplash
J.K. Simmons is an American actor.
He was born Jonathan Kimble Simmons in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to Patricia (Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a music teacher. He attended the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; University of Montana, Missoula, MT (BA in Music).
He had ...
Dr. Emil Skoda, Psychiatrist
29. Alana De La Garza
Actress | Law & Order
Alana De La Garza was born in Columbus, Ohio and later relocated to Texas, ultimately attending the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). After college, she moved to Orlando, Florida, landing roles in a number of independent films as well as commercials. Her work took her to New York, where she ...
Assistant District Attorney Consuela "Connie" Rubirosa
30. Leslie Hendrix
Actress | Law & Order
Leslie Hendrix was born on June 5, 1960 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Law & Order (1990), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) and Gotham (2014).
Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers, Medical Examiner
31. Steven Hill
Actor | Law & Order
Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1922, as Solomon Krakovsky, to Russian Jewish immigrants, Hill became interested in the theater as a little boy. After graduation from high school, he served in the Naval Reserve (1940-44). From there, he worked alongside a young, unknown star Marlon Brando in "A ...
District Attorney Adam Schiff
32. Dennis Farina
Actor | Get Shorty
Dennis Farina was one of Hollywood's busiest actors and a familiar face to moviegoers and television viewers alike. Recently, he appeared in the feature films, "The Grand," a comedy about a Vegas poker tournament with Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines and Ray Romano; "Bottle Shock," also starring Alan ...
Detective Joseph "Joe" Fontana
33. Julianne Nicholson
Actress | August: Osage County
Nicholson was born and raised in Medford, Massachusetts (outside Boston), and is the eldest of four siblings. She is the daughter of Kate (Gilday) and James O. Nicholson, Jr., and is of Irish heritage. Nicholson moved to New York which led to a modeling career in Paris. She attended Hunter College ...
Detective Megan Wheeler
34. Richard Brooks
Director | Anticipation
Commanding actor Richard Brooks was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He is an actor, director and singer. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Brooks studied acting, dance, and voice work at Interlochen Academy of Arts in Michigan. Later, he moved to New York City and was a student of the Circle in the Square ...
Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette
35. Jeff Goldblum
Actor | Jurassic Park
Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum was born October 22, 1952 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of four children of Shirley (Temeles), a radio broadcaster who also ran an appliances firm, and Harold L. Goldblum, a doctor. His father was of Russian Jewish descent and his mother was of Austrian Jewish ancestry.
...
Detective Zachary "Zach" Nichols
Tell Your Friends