Peter Hermann and Mariska Hargitay pose with their children, August Miklos Friedrich Hermann, Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann and Amaya Josephine Hermann at the 2023 Stuttering Association For The Young (SAY) Benefit Gala.Photo:Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
She plays the tough detective who gave heart toLaw & Order: SVU,earning her street cred and much affection wherever she goes in New York City. But noteveryoneknows whyMariska Hargitayelicits such excitement throughout the five boroughs.
In a recent interview withPEOPLE, celebrating the25th anniversary of the NBC series, which returns on Jan. 18, Hargitay shared a sweet story about her son Andrew, 12, who doesn’t yet watchSVU. (He isone of three kidsshe shares with husbandPeter Hermann, including August, 17 and Amaya, 12.)
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Meanwhile, Hargitay shares how Andrew recently discovered a Japanese anime fantasy film — in which she had a voiceover part —Tales From Earthsea, from 2006.
“I did this movie so many years ago, I just did a little voiceover, no big deal,” she says. “And then my son, who loves anime now, he found out that I was in this movie. He said, ‘What? You’re in this movie?’ And we sat and watched it. And I’m sitting on the couch with my 12-year-old son who, first of all, the movie’s good, but he just thought it was the coolest thing.”
“So for him to see me in this movie that he loves, he said ‘Mom, it’s such a cool character.’ And it was this moment of had I known that, almost 20 years ago, that I would have this moment with my son that was so bonding and sacred, I just sat there going, ‘I don’t know that life gets better than this moment.’"
“And that’s what’s exciting about life, that in many ways, we’re getting ready our whole lives for things,” she reflects, “because I keep learning things are worth the wait.”
Law & Order: SVUreturns to NBC for its 25th season on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 9 p.m. ET.
For more on Mariska Hargitay, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now, or subscribehere.
source: people.com