The original Law & Order debuted in 1990; since then, the franchise has grown into a massive crime-fighting universe comprised of numerous shows. Although each series has its main cast, they bring in reoccurring characters and one-off disposable characters for every single episode.
Some Law & Order series have run for more than 20 seasons and many of these shows have hundreds of episodes in their catalog. With the sheer volume of content this crime-fighting universe pumps out, many familiar actors have actually taken on the burden of playing more than one character throughout the franchise.
10 Dominic Fumusa
Dominic Fumusa may be more recognizable from his role as Ray Conlin in Homeland but Fumusa has made several appearances on three different Law & Order shows. While he never played a main or reoccurring character, Fumusa is no stranger to Law & Order's sets.
In fact, Fumusa has appeared in 5 episodes of Special Victims Unit as Detective Lopez ("Stalked"), IAB Lieutenant Coates ("Paranoia"), Lt. Gary Rosten ("PTSD"), and his character Captain Jason Harris appeared in two episodes of season 13. Beyond that, Fumusa also starred in a single episode of Criminal Intent as Nathan Grayson and two episodes of the original Law & Order as Scott Turner and Tom Lupo.
9 John Doman
Although John Doman has never played a main character on Law & Order, he's been in just about every spin-off of the franchise. He played 5 different characters in 5 episodes of SVU, from season 1 to season 13. His SVU appearances include the characters Dan Lattimer, Munch's informant, Rod Franklin, Mike Mollinax, and William Rand. Doman was also in 5 episodes of the original series as a bailiff, Sgt. Frank Gottlieb, Mr. Stephens, Howard Ridgeway, and Jim Gilles. Doman appeared in a single episode of Criminal Intent as Roy Markham.
Doman even starred as Tim Grace in an episode of the short-lived spin-off Trial By Jury in 2005. Most recently, Doman appeared in one of Law & Order's newer spin-offs, Organized Crime, which stars former SVU detective, Elliot Stabler. So far, Doman has made 4 appearances in Organized Crime as Robert Silas. Since this is Doman's most recent appearance, and he plays a reoccurring character, this is probably his best-known role in the franchise.
8 Ice-T
Ice-T is incredibly well-known as SVU's Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola. Fin was introduced in season 2 of SVU and has been in just about every episode since. He's been in over 500 episodes of SVU. He's also appeared as Fin in a few of the other shows, like Organized Crime.
Because Ice-T is so recognizable, it may shock fans to know that Fin was not actually his first appearance in the franchise. Ice-T starred in Exile: A Law & Order Movie in 1998 as Seymour "Kingston" Stockton. It's easy to see why this Stockton was eclipsed by Fin's iconic presence but he's still there, lurking in the background.
7 Annie Parisse
Annie Parisse played ADA Alexandria Borgia on Law & Order for two seasons. Borgia was the main ADA of seasons 15 and 16 before she was brutally killed off. Parisse starred in 33 episodes as Borgia, but she also had a smaller role on the show.
A few years before Parisse was cast as Borgia, she made an appearance in season 12, episode 22, "Attorney Client." Here she played a sex worker named Jasmine Blake, a far cry from the respected DA fans think of her as.
6 Anthony Anderson
Like many staple Law & Order characters, Anthony Anderson appeared in the Law & Order franchise before he was cast as Detective Kevin Bernard. In 2008, Anderson joined the original series' main cast as Bernard, where he remained until the series ended. In 2022, when Law & Order was revived, Anderson returned as Detective Bernard.
A couple of years before Anderson was cast as Detective Bernard, however, he played a one-time role in a 2006 episode of Special Victims Unit. In the episode Fat (season 7, episode 20), where Anderson appeared as Detective Lucius Blaine, Elliot Stabler's temporary partner.
5 Diane Neal
SVU's Casey Novak is one of the most memorable ADAs of the Law & Order franchise. Diane Neal brought Novak to life, and she is the longest-running female ADA in the entire franchise. She also had the third-longest run as an ADA in the franchise, period.
After five SVU seasons (seasons 5-9), Diane Neal reprised her role as Casey Novak in seasons 12 and 13. She also appeared in one episode of Trial By Jury as ADA Novak. However, before Neal played ADA Casey Novak, she appeared in a 2001 episode of SVU called "Ridicule" (season 3, episode 10). This episode was quite controversial at the time because it discussed women sexually assaulting men. Neal portrayed Amelia Chase, one of the female offenders.
4 Peter Scanavino
Peter Scanavino is best known for playing Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr. in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Sonny first appeared in season 16 as a detective, and he eventually went on to become an ADA. Sonny is the current ADA of SVU and is still going strong in season 24. Scanavino has also portrayed Sonny on Law & Order and Organized Crime.
That said, Peter Scanavino's first appearance in the franchise had nothing to do with Sonny. His first appearance on SVU was in season 14, where he played a character named Johnny Dubcek in "Monster's Legacy." He also starred in an episode of Trial By Jury as Robert Hassel and as robber and drug abuser Johnny Feist on Criminal Intent.
3 Kelli Giddish
Kelli Giddish has starred in over 250 episodes of SVU as Detective Amanda Rollins. One of the series' main detectives, she left the SVU to become a Professor of Forensic Psychology at Fordham University. Always popular, Rollins also made appearances in Organized Crime and Law & Order's 2022 revival.
Giddish, however, has played a couple of characters that had nothing to do with Amanda Rollins. Before Rollins's first appearance in SVU season 13, Giddish appeared in season 8, episode 12 (Outsider) as Kara Bawson. She also starred in a 2007 episode of Criminal Intent called "Depths" (season 7, episode 5) as Dana Stipe, a member of a secretive wealthy family.
2 S. Epatha Merkerson
S. Epatha Merkerson is best known for her legendary role as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren from the original Law & Order. Van Buren's first appearance was in season 4, but Merkerson went on to star in the rest of the original run of the show until it ended in 2010. Merkerson starred in over 390 episodes of Law & Order. Sadly, she hasn't been back for the Law & Order revival yet.
Merkerson also made appearances on Trial By Jury, Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Dead on the Money, and Law & Order II: Double or Nothing as her iconic character, Anita Van Buren. However, many fans might not remember Merkerson's prior appearance on Law & Order before she was cast as Van Buren. In season 1, episode 17 (Mushrooms), Merkerson appeared as Mrs. Denise Winters, the mother of two murdered children.
1 Raul Esparza
Raul Esparza played Rafael Barba on Special Victims Unit for over 100 episodes. Barba was introduced as an ADA and achieved instant acclaim. From season 14 to season 19, Barba acted as the series' main ADA. In later seasons, after Barba turned his back on the job, he reemerged as a defense attorney. Barba has also shown up on Organized Crime.
While fans will likely remember Esparza for his amazing work as Barba, he did appear in the franchise before he became the beloved ADA. In 2009, Esparza starred in a single episode of Criminal Intent titled "Lady's Man" where he played Kevin Mulrooney. The following year, he appeared as Dennis Di Palma in an episode of Law & Order titled "Blackmail."