Reneé Rapp has never been afraid to speak her mind, and her latest dream role has fans doing a double-take. The powerhouse singer and breakout actress recently revealed in an interview that if she were to return to acting, she wouldn’t settle for just any guest spot. Nope. She’s got her eyes on something far more iconic. She wants to play Captain Olivia Benson’s lover on Law & Order: SVU.
Rapp is currently focused primarily on her music career, especially her new album Bite Me, so she’s been on an unofficial break from acting. Despite that, there’s one kind of acting role that might interest her enough to come back to TV.
In a new interview with Today, Rapp took part in a segment where she had to answer eight questions before 8 a.m. One of the questions was, "If you had a guest starring role on SVU, what character would you play?" Rapp immediately lit up and didn’t hesitate, stating that she'd love to play Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson character's romantic partner. She then jokes that it’s about time Benson was gay, referencing an old episode of SVU where there was some discussion or hints about Benson’s sexuality, but nothing was confirmed.
“There was an episode where they were talking about it and considering if she was gay. I feel like Christopher Meloni‘s character was like, ‘No, like, you’re a lesbian.’ And she was like, ‘Um, no.’ Liar.”
Rapp tells Today that she imagines a storyline where her character and Benson get involved in an undercover mission, possibly related to a drug empire. While I personally would love to see Rapp take on a much different role than we've seen her play before, I'm not sure how fans of SVU will feel about her being paired up romantically with Benson.
There are many Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) shippers out there who have been waiting patiently for the two beloved characters to kiss and get together. If the show were to take this bold new direction, I could see some of the fandom being turned off or feeling disappointed. Of course, there will also be those like Rapp who welcome the change with open arms. But no one has to worry about anything just yet. Rapp has not been cast in the long-running NBC crime drama series. This is her simply imagining a dream role.
Besides her music, Rapp is best known for previously starring as Leighton Murray in the short-lived HBO Max series The Sex Lives of College Girls. In seasons 1 and 2, she was a main cast member. However, she was bumped down to recurring in the show's third and final season because she wanted to focus more on her music career. You might also recognize her from her previous starring role as Regina George in the Mean Girls remake.
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