Staying Fit
Stabler is back. Ten years after he quit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit to star in very un-SVU shows like True Blood and Pose, Christopher Meloni — and his popular character, NYPD detective Elliot Stabler — has put his badge back on. On April 1, Meloni (and Stabler) will return in NBC's newest Law & Order series, Law & Order: Organized Crime. (To help everyone make the transition, the premiere episode is an SVU crossover, including Meloni's former costar Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson.)
Meloni, who will turn 60 the day after his new series premieres, talked with AARP about revisiting a character who's aged and returning to the SVU universe.
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How is Elliot Stabler different now?
You can have certain behavioral patterns as a younger man that I don't think wear as well as an older man. I think that if you are conscious and have aspects of empathy and awareness, you acquire a modicum of wisdom, which I think helps temper impulses. I think the heart and soul of this man, Elliot, is still very much alive and burning.
How do you feel about turning 60 on April 2?
Ah, man, I've never felt better. I've always thought of growing up as putting away toys. When you're 2, you get a rattle. When you're 5, you don't have a rattle. You have your toy truck, your doll. When you're 8, you have your bicycle. You're always putting toys away. For me, the toys were toys of pleasure and entertainment and just living a better life. Everything's just a little tighter now.