The "Law And Order" franchise has a long history of casting actors against type. Stephen Colbert, Neil Patrick Harris, and even Tom Arnold in "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" showed how great a dramatic range they were capable of. However, my all time favorite cast-against- type is truly Martin Short in this SVU episode.
As Sebastian Ballentine he has his usual comedic edge that audiences who are familiar with his early work in "SNL," "The Three Amigos," and his other roles. But the more you get to know Ballentine, the more you realize how truly horrifying Short's performance is.
When he tells Stabler about his "virgin" obsession, you can see the darkness in him. And it was the first time that I saw Martin Short become a truly dark character. He can't stop his compulsion and I wondered how much further he would have went. He can't stop it, and it's scary that it would have never ended if the SVU team hadn't stopped him.
Kudos to the cast as usual, especially Chris Meloni's Elliot, who takes a huge dislike to Ballentine. But it's Short that really showed the world that he can "do dark".
As Sebastian Ballentine he has his usual comedic edge that audiences who are familiar with his early work in "SNL," "The Three Amigos," and his other roles. But the more you get to know Ballentine, the more you realize how truly horrifying Short's performance is.
When he tells Stabler about his "virgin" obsession, you can see the darkness in him. And it was the first time that I saw Martin Short become a truly dark character. He can't stop his compulsion and I wondered how much further he would have went. He can't stop it, and it's scary that it would have never ended if the SVU team hadn't stopped him.
Kudos to the cast as usual, especially Chris Meloni's Elliot, who takes a huge dislike to Ballentine. But it's Short that really showed the world that he can "do dark".