Tales from the Trail

When Hollywood and Washington meet, the geeky government bureaucrat is usually the one in awe of the movie or television star.

But when “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” television heroine Mariska Hargitay stopped by the Justice Department to meet Attorney General Eric Holder, the awe was focused squarely on the the chief law enforcement officer.

Describing their meeting as a “huge thrill”, Hargitay described Holder as a “rock star.” She is in town as part of the commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act which was aimed at focusing more resources and attention on violent crimes against women.

She was joined in her meeting with Holder by her husband and fellow actor Peter Hermann and their 3-year-old son, August. The attorney general handed their son a little coin that senior administration officials give out as souvenirs to visitors and, according to August, told him: “Don’t lose it!”

Hargitay will also be testifying before a House Judiciary subcommittee on Thursday  about the backlog of rape kit tests.

She is best known for her starring role on “Law & Order: SVU” as detective Olivia Benson, but has also starred in movies and other television hits like “ER”. Her show was spared the ax last week when NBC canceled the long-running original series “Law & Order.”

- Photo credit: Reuters/Jeremy Pelofsky (Hargitay and her husband stop by to talk to reporters at the Justice Department)