Christopher Meloni recalls his 'instant chemistry' with Mariska Hargitay on SVU

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Happy! star Christopher Meloni stopped by Entertainment Weekly: The Show to discuss his lengthy film and television career, including his role in the classic film Runaway Bride, where he starred opposite Julia Roberts.

“I do a couple scenes with Julia and after one of the scenes Julia looks at me and goes, ‘Oh my god, aren’t you adorable,'” said Meloni of the auditioning process. “So I really owe Julia Roberts on that one.”

The actor then went on to talk about his role as New York City detective Elliot Stabler opposite Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: SVU. “Mariska and I had instant chemistry, just add water,” said the actor. “Yeah, that was a great run.”

In his latest endeavor, Happy!, Meloni plays Nick Sax, a former policeman turned hitman who has a lot of issues… and an imaginary unicorn friend. The actor recalls what it was like reading the script of the show for the very first time and admits to being confused: “I had no idea what the f–k I had just read.”

“I called Bryan Taylor, one of the showrunners, I said, ‘What is this? Help me understand this role,'” said Meloni. “He was like, ‘I don’t know, I can’t tell you. Let’s just figure it out.'”

Happy! airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on SyFy.