Before she was Olivia Benson, Mariska Hargitay was almost there for you on "Friends."

While appearing on Amy Poehler's "Good Hang" podcast, the "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" star revealed she auditioned to play Monica Geller on "Friends" before Courteney Cox was cast in the role.

"I tested for 'Friends' so many times," Hargitay told Poehler, adding she "always thought that I would end up being on a sitcom or doing comedy."

Despite now being best known for a dramatic role, Hargitay, 61, noted she was primarily going up for comedic parts at the start of her career. Her early credits included a 1993 episode of "Seinfeld," in which she plays an actress auditioning for a role in Jerry's TV show.

"How did I end up as America's sweetheart sex cop," Hargitay joked before telling Poehler, "I should have been you! I wanted to be you!"

During the 2021 "Friends" reunion special, cocreator Marta Kauffman said producers saw a "gazillion" people for the main roles on the show and noted Cox was initially being considered for Jennifer Aniston's character, Rachel. Cox, though, argued she was a better fit for Monica.

Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2012, "Friends" cocreator David Crane shared that "when we originally wrote the role, we had Janeane Garofalo's voice in our head," as they were imagining Monica to be "darker and edgier and snarkier" before Cox "brought a whole bunch of other colors to it."

Numerous other actresses have said they auditioned for the role of Monica, including "Sex and the City" star Kristin Davis, who told James Corden in 2021 that she "was one of like 8,000 young ladies who read for" the part. "The Facts of Life" star Nancy McKeon was also considered for the role.

On "Good Hang," Hargitay also recounted a memorable encounter with a psychic, who gave an eerily accurate prediction about her career. At the time, Hargitay was still planning to pursue comedy and was developing a show that was part comedy, part drama.

"I was listening to him really intently, and he said to me, 'You see that face you're doing right now? You see that face?'" she recalled. "He goes, 'You're going to be famous for that face. You're moving to New York, and you're going to be famous for that face.'"

Hargitay initially rejected what the psychic said, noting she lived in Los Angeles and was planning to be a comedian. But "six months later — swear to God, on my children — I got 'SVU,'" Hargitay said.

Hargitay has played her iconic "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" role of Olivia Benson since 1999. Earlier this year, she debuted an HBO documentary about her late mother, Jayne Mansfield, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mariska Hargitay reveals she auditioned for this iconic 'Friends' role

Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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