Christopher Meloni Recalls Terrifying Experience as a New York City Bouncer Before Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Just before he entered the 16th Precinct, Christopher Meloni was pursuing the criminals. Years prior he got a role as Detective Elliot Stabler on the crime drama, the Law & Order: SVU star described a terrifying event he had while working as a bouncer and pursuing two clients who hadn't paid their bill.
"Frantically, a waitress comes up to me and says, two girls ran out on the bill," on the Thanks Dad With Ego Nwodim podcast on June 22, he made this statement. "So me and the manager bust out onto Bleecker Street. And there was a fresh fallen snow, like half inch, quarter inch, on the ground. And the waitress goes, 'That's them, that's them!' Right? So me and him go running."
However, a car unexpectedly pulled up after Meloni and the manager had caught up to the women.
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"I'm distracted and one gets away— they both get away—and they jump into the car," Meloni added that the people in the car were the boyfriends of the females. "I get onto the passenger side door. It's closed. And they're trying to roll up the window and I'm holding it down. And I said, 'Get out of the car, get out of the car!'"
The Oz actor claims that one of the female passengers began "punching [him] in the face" as the man behind the wheel started to drive.
"Then the guy in the back seat [says], 'Slam him against, hit him against the parked cars,'" Meloni went on to say. "He's going to try and crush me against the parked cars. And I'm skitching along, 'cause it's fresh snow."
Meloni emphasized that even though the whole thing only lasted "about three seconds," the automobile nearly ran him over.
"It starts going and you're wondering when can I let go without being caught under the back wheels," he noted. "Whatever it was, I did let go finally. Freshly slapped and punched around."
The 65-year-old survived unharmed, but he was unable to understand the customers' intentions.
"I just remember going, 'What the f--k are you thinking? What are you doing?'" he continued. "I mean, probably for a bill of $45 or something."
Meloni's breakthrough role as Detective Stabler in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, starring Mariska Hargitay, was cast in 1999, years after he worked as a bouncer in New York City. He played this role until 2011.
However, the show was discontinued in April after five seasons, even though he came back in 2021 to play the same part in the spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime.
“I just saw that they announced OC, Organized Crime, won’t be coming back,” Meloni stated after the announcement in an Instagram Reel. “So I wanted to take this moment to thank the fans who not only helped give the character of Elliot Stabler life and longevity, but for sticking with him and welcoming him back.”
As he observed, “I had a great time playing him. It was a great ride, but thank you, you helped give me a career that I never dreamed of, you know, nearly 17 odd years.”
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