Mariska Hargitay Once Told Daniel Radcliffe 'I'm the Real Harry Potter' and Here's Why (Exclusive)

Liz McNeilWed, May 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM UTC

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Mariska Hargitay and Daniel Radcliffe
Credit: Getty(2) -

When Mariska Hargitay met Daniel Radcliffe backstage at Every Brilliant Thing, she told him, "I just want you to know that I'm the real Harry Potter"

She showed him the scar on her forehead, the result of the 1967 car crash that killed her mom, Jayne Mansfield

Hargitay, who's making her Broadway debut in the play, calls Radcliffe "an amazing powerhouse performer"

Mariska Hargitay may describe her first meeting with Daniel Radcliffe as “a funny moment,” but it was also, perhaps, stamped with destiny.

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star who is making her Broadway debut inEvery Brilliant Thing, on May 26, first met up with Radcliffe, (whom she's replacing) backstage after one of his performances.

“He was so welcoming and kind,” Hargitay, 62, tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. “He said, ‘Call me if you need anything. You're going to be great.’ And then I said, ‘Can I talk to you alone for a minute?’"

Mariska Hargitay and Daniel Radcliffe
Credit: Getty(2)

After they found a quiet area, she told him, “I just want you to know that I'm the real Harry Potter.”

“And instead of looking at me like, ‘Who's this wack job lady?’ He was so open and sort of curious," she continues. "And he looked at me, and said, ‘Oh, tell me,’ kind of a thing.”

“I leaned over and I showed him my scar from when I was little, from the accident when my mom died, and he looked and said, ‘You really are. It's a perfect Harry Potter scar."

Hargitay’s scar was from the June 29, 1967 car accident that killed her mom, Hollywood actress Jayne Mansfield at age 34. Mariska, then 3 years old, was also in the car, along with her two brothers, Zoltan and Mickey Hargitay Jr. Mariska was found hiding underneath the seat and had sustained a head injury, which left a scar.

“I don't think there's a lot of people that can say to Daniel Radcliffe, ‘I'm the real Harry Potter,’ but that was our sort of icebreaking bonding moment,” she says.

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Mariska Hargitay photographed for PEOPLE in New York City on May 11, 2026
Credit: Mary Ellen Matthews

She's a huge fan of the 36-year-old British actor who is now up for a Tony award for his performance. “He's amazing and he might be the nicest guy I've ever met and so talented,” says Hargitay.

“That's been another little miracle of this journey, is to meet him and to watch him in his artistry and get to follow such an amazing powerhouse performer," she notes. "We send each other videos sometimes, and I'm keeping him up to speed.”

Mariska Hargitay photographed for PEOPLE in New York City on May 11, 2026
Credit: Mary Ellen Matthews

As Hargitay's lifelong dream to appear on Broadway comes true, she calls Every Brilliant Thing, written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, “an extraordinarily beautiful human play.” One in which the themes of grief, loss, suicide and finding hope and meaning through “brilliant things” spoke deeply to her.

"What I love about this play is it really puts us in community with anything that has stigma, because what we need is to know that we're not alone and to feel connected, and that there's help out there."

Mariska Hargitay for PEOPLE
Credit: Mary Ellen Matthews

"The play makes you want to hold hands with the other people in the audience and give everyone a big group hug," she says. "And I think you leave there with a little more hope and a little more joy in your heart."

Tickets forEvery Brilliant Thingare on sale now.

For more on Mariska Hargitay, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”