The Transformation Of Mariska Hargitay From Childhood To Law And Order SVU

In 1991, Hargitay appeared in the lead role of Anita in "Hard Time Romance," a romantic comedy that marked the filmmaking debut of writer/director John Lee Hancock. That wasn't her only appearance on the big screen that year, however, as she also showed up in the martial arts action film "The Perfect Weapon," where she played Jennifer, and the immigrant drama "Strawberry Road," where she played Jill Banner and starred alongside Toshiro Mifune and Pat Morita. She also appeared in an episode of the crime drama "Adam-12" in that same year, playing Michelle Brown in an episode titled "Anatomy of a Rape."

In 1992, Hargitay got another lead role on a TV series, this time in the CBS crime dramedy "Tequila and Bonetti." Hargitay portrayed Officer Angela Garcia, the human partner to Nick Bonetti, who begins the show by transferring from the New York Police Department to Los Angeles. Bonetti's partner is a dog named Tequila, whose thoughts the audience can hear. Garcia also had a daughter, played by Troian Bellisario, who would go on to a lead role in "Pretty Little Liars." The show, however, only lasted for 12 episodes.

In 1993, Hargitay starred in the crime drama film "Bank Robber" alongside a cast that included Patrick Dempsey, Lisa Bonet, and Forest Whitaker. Over the next two years, she appeared in small roles in two major projects, as she showed up in the 1995 award-winning drama "Leaving Las Vegas" with Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, and in Season 4 of "Seinfeld."