Actors You Forgot Starred In Law & Order

Since the 1990s, the "Law & Order" franchise has captivated audiences with criminal cases and legal battles across multiple shows. Brimming with an impressive roster of talent in front of the camera, it has produced some of the most iconic characters in the police procedural genre. But while "Law & Order" and its many spin-offs have helped bring fame to numerous up-and-coming actors over the years, it's also been able to attract a bevy of Hollywood's best for short runs, whether for a handful of episodes in a recurring role or even as a member of the main cast.

Some of these superstar actors have come and gone quickly, and you may not even remember they were ever part of the franchise. Others were regulars that hadn't yet made their names in the industry. Four of them have played Marvel supervillains, one of them was a notorious gangster, and another went on to serve with Captain Picard. What do they have in common? They've all made our list of actors you forgot starred in "Law & Order."

Edie Falco has had several iconic TV roles in her career. Most will probably recognize her as Carmela, the wife of mafia man Tony Soprano in "The Sopranos," but she's also well-known for playing the titular character in the long-running series "Nurse Jackie" and Officer Whittlesey in HBO's acclaimed prison drama "Oz." What you may not know is that, in 2017, she took a starring role in one of the "Law & Order" franchise's most unusual spin-offs, "Law & Order True Crime."

Initially envisioned as a series of single-season stories that dramatized the most sensational real-life criminal cases, Season 1 of "True Crime" was subtitled "The Menendez Murders." Edie Falco starred as Leslie Abramson, the criminal defense attorney who represented high profile killers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who in 1996 were convicted of the murders of their parents. Unfortunately, the eight-episode series didn't capture the attention of audiences like other similar shows, such as Netflix's "Manhunt: Unabomber" or "The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story," both of which aired around the same time.

Showrunner Rene Balcer told The Hollywood Reporter that Season 2 might focus on the case of domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh, but the series never returned, accounting for why fans may not recall Falco's appearance in the franchise.

The first "Law & Order" spin-off arrived in 1999. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" came with an impressive new cast of characters. Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) was brought over from the flagship series, while actors Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni stepped in to play leading detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. Rapper-turned-actor Ice-T took on the role of cynical cop Fin Tutuola, while Richard Belzer imported his character John Munch from "Homicide: Life on the Streets." But one character who audiences today may have forgotten about is Detective Monique Jeffries, who was played by Michelle Hurd.

Unfortunately, Hurd had very little to do. "I just read instructions," she lamented after she left the series in 2001. "And yeah, there's an art form to be able to say, 'Take the screwdriver, put it in the hole, turn left, turn right, unlock door.' I'm glad I can do that, but there are other things I can do." The main issue was that Hurd didn't manage to convince producers that she was the right person to partner Belzer's character. Jeffries was written off the show after two seasons. "I understand the industry, and what networks want, and they wanted someone to have an impact, a rating," she said, adding: "I did think that in a sex crimes unit you'd want to have more women."

Following her exit, Hurd joined the Showtime series "Leap Years" alongside her future husband Garret Dillahunt, and in the years since she has been able to demonstrate just what "SVU" missed out on. She's had prominent roles in "Blindspot," "Hawaii Five-0" and "Daredevil," and in 2020 she began starring alongside Patrick Stewart in "Star Trek: Picard."

Terrence Howard rose to prominence following his role in 2004's "Crash," hitting it big in "Hustle & Flow" a year later. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the music drama. By 2015, he was a major star and he joined the cast of Fox's acclaimed show "Empire," where he played music mogul Lucious Lyon for six seasons. What you may not know is that, in between those roles, Howard had a starring role in a short-lived "Law & Order" spin-off series called "Law & Order: Los Angeles."

The series arrived just months after the franchise's flagship show left the air. Intended to fill the gap, "Law & Order: Los Angeles" was far from the gritty street drama of "SVU" and the franchise's original series, focusing more on the glamorous world of Hollywood. Howard starred as Deputy District Attorney Jonah "Joe" Dekker, a morally righteous protector of the law. Recently appointed to the position, Dekker is also politically ambitious, a fact that often creates friction with his team.

Howard made a crossover appearance in an episode of "Law & Order: SVU" in a clear attempt to drum up interest in his own series, but it was all for naught. "Law & Order: Los Angeles" was canceled after a single season when a cast reshuffle failed to fix poor viewership figures.

A longtime veteran of gritty crime dramas, Dennis Farina got his start in Michael Mann's first film, the 1981 neo-noir thriller "Thief." He went on to play roles in the likes of "Miami Vice" and "China Beach," and he had parts in "Get Shorty" and "Out of Sight" in the 1990s. It may have been his role as FBI agent Jack Crawford in Mann's 1986 cult classic "Manhunter" that paved the way for his two-season stint on "Law & Order," but it's just as likely it was his former career as a Chicago cop — Farina spent almost two decades on the force before turning to acting.

His spell on "Law & Order" came in the mid-2000s, by which time Farina was already a renowned character actor. He joined the flagship series in the 15th season as Detective Joe Fontana, a replacement for Jerry Orbach's Lennie Briscoe. With a resume packed with similar roles, not to mention his career in the police, Farina slipped effortlessly into the lineup of NYPD detectives like he'd been a part of the franchise for years.

After two seasons, Farina left "Law & Order" and mostly stuck to movies, though he joined the cast of the HBO drama "Luck" in 2011, a series produced by frequent collaborator Michael Mann. Farina passed away in 2013 at the age of 69.

Corey Stoll got his start back in the early 2000s with guest spots in everything from "CSI" to "NYPD Blue." He even made a one-off appearance in an episode of "Law & Order" in 2006 as the brother of a victim who may be guilty of more than he lets on, but that's not the role that earns him a spot on this list. Just a few years before his breakout role as Peter Russo in Netflix's "House of Cards," Stoll had a starring role in the ill-fated "Law & Order: Los Angeles."

Stoll appeared as Detective Tomas Jaruszalski of the Robbery-Homicide Division. Born and raised in Hollywood, California, Jaruszalski has seen the seedy underbelly of the entertainment industry with his own eyes, and he has a dim view of the players on the scene. But, like the rest of the star-studded cast of the 2010 spin-off, Stoll was left out to dry when the show was axed after just one season. It may have all been for the better, though, as it allowed him to move on to "House of Cards" a few years later, kickstarting his career and opening new doors. Marvel fans will know him as Darren Cross (aka Yellowjacket) from "Ant-Man," and he more recently played the young Junior Soprano in "The Many Saints of Newark."

Depending on when you grew up, you'll either recognize Alfred Molina as the back-stabbing guide in the opening of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the sinister Doctor Octopus in "Spider-Man 2," or that same villain in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." On top of matching wits with the whip-wielding relic hunter and Marvel's wall-crawler, Molina has appeared in films like "Species" and "The Da Vinci Code." What you might not remember is that he also led a "Law & Order" series of his own, the aforementioned "Law & Order: Los Angeles."

Playing a unique character in the pantheon of "Law & Order" heroes, Molina appeared as Ricardo Morales, who has served as both a District Attorney and as a leading detective in the LAPD. Raised in a working class immigrant family, Morales actually started out as an LAPD patrolman before pursuing a career as a prosecutor. He became known as something of a shark, ruthlessly pursuing justice, though that sometimes meant painting outside moral lines. Eventually, Morales grew weary of life in the courtroom. Feeling he could do more good as a detective, he went back to where it all began.

Alongside Terrence Howard, Molina brought a big screen presence to the small screen spin-off. Perhaps this gave audiences and critics lofty expectations that the show couldn't meet, as "Law & Order: Los Angeles" never found the success that some of Molina's other projects did.