Mariska Hargitay, known for playing Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, experienced a collapsed lung during a stunt on the show in 2008. The injury required surgery and led her to rethink her approach to action scenes. She later shared how the incident shaped her perspective on life and work.
In the fall of 2008, while filming an episode of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mariska Hargitay sustained a serious injury during a chase scene stunt. The actor, who has portrayed Detective Olivia Benson since the series began in 1999, was performing the action herself when the mishap occurred. "I was doing a stunt chasing a bad guy. I'd always insisted on doing the stunts my own way, although I don't feel so strongly about that anymore. I jumped and landed on pads, but on the second take, something happened — I just landed wrong," Hargitay recounted in a Redbook interview.
Initially, she believed she had merely had the wind knocked out of her or pulled a muscle. Ignoring the pain, she continued working, but the issue persisted. Months later, she underwent surgery for the collapsed lung. Upon returning to the set in March 2009, the lung collapsed again—a rare recurrence that affects only one in every 1,000 people, according to Hargitay. This double setback prompted a significant change: she began relying on stunt doubles for more dangerous sequences.
The experience came shortly after Hargitay became a parent, amplifying its impact. It served as a stark reminder of life's fragility, influencing her to prioritize safety on set. Despite the ordeal, she found silver linings. "I think you learn to feel grateful when you are exposed at such a young age to the fact that bad things can happen," she reflected. "I look at all the things life has allowed me to do and I feel like the luckiest person in the world."
Hargitay has faced other injuries, such as an ankle issue in 2021 unrelated to filming, but the 2008 incident stands out for reshaping her professional habits in the long-running procedural drama.
