Law and Order Special Victims Unit: Christopher Meloni is Masterful as Detective Eliot Stabler

You know an actor is very talented when he either makes you fall in love with his fictional character or just plain old despise, said character, even though you know deep down that he's not a real person.

This was just the case that prompted me to write this biographical column about Law and Order: Special Victims Unit actor, Christopher Meloni, who portrays fictional character, Detective Elliot Stabler on the hit NBC series.

To be blunt about it, Meloni's character can be such an overbearing jackass, that you find yourself instinctively disliking him, much like many of this country' overbearing police officers who enforce the law, but aren't held to the same standards themselves.

My issues with America's police officers aside, here is everything you've ever wanted to know about both, Christopher Meloni and his character on Law and Order SVU, Detective Eliot Stabler.

Born on April 2, 1961, Meloni has been nominated for Emmy awards for his near opposite roles as Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as the sociopath bisexual serial killer Chris Keller on HBO's Oz.

Meloni worked his way up the acting ladder with several short-lived roles in numerous television series and bit parts in films.
His first noticeable role was as the hotheaded son of a Mafia Don in the 1996 lesbian thriller, Bound. He also appeared as Julia Roberts' fiance in Runaway Bride.

His first real moment of stardom came from his controversial role as bisexual sociopath Chris Keller in the HBO prison drama Oz. The role called for him to passionately kiss and touch other men, frequently submit to rear and full frontal nudity, and even urinate into a bucket.

Meloni's raw magnetism and affable reaction towards the open sexuality of his character earned him press attention and legions of fans, particularly within the gay community.

In 1999, he even jokingly kissed his onscreen partner Lee Tergesen at an awards dinner for GLAAD. Law and Order producer Dick Wolf, impressed by Meloni's acting abilities, signed him up for SVU in 1999, where he has remained ever since.

From 1999 to 2003, he appeared on both shows simultaneously. He even returned to his comedic roots when he portrayed the character "Gene" in Wet Hot American Summer in 2001, and the character of "Freakshow" (albeit in heavy make-up) in the 2004 comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.

On July 6, 2006, Meloni was nominated for his first Emmy Award, in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, for his role as Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU.

Meloni is recognized as one of the most versatile actors today and says of his character on Law and Order, that they have a lot of similarities.

"Stabler and I are alike in that we're focused on our job and couldn't see doing anything else with our lives," said Meloni.
"He's a rock solid guy, with a great capacity for compassion, the ironic, and the absurd. He can relish the small triumphs when they come and doesn't allow the horrors of his job to infect him."

Stabler is a police officer with Manhattan's 16th Precinct, also known as the Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes. He is dedicated to his job, but this dedication can occasionally turn into obsession, as he often takes cases personally, affecting his judgement.

Stabler lives in Queens with his wife Kathy (played by Isabel Gillies); the couple's three daughters and one son. Stabler is a devout Catholic who came from an Irish-American background and his father was also a policeman.Stabler had a difficult relationship with his father, who was physically abusive at times.

Stabler served in the U.S. Marines and has an USMC tattoo of an eagle, globe and anchor on his forearm.
He attended Queens College where he earned his BA. He became a police officer mostly to follow in his father's footsteps and to help support his new family, but soon grew to like the job.

Stabler often mentions his four children and has displayed mixed feelings about mentioning them to suspects and victims. He sometimes speaks of them to gain trust, but has also become defensive if a suspect asks of his family.

Stabler is very protective of his children and sees aspects of them in every child molestation victim, fueling a hatred for pedophiles so intense that he once admitted that he sometimes fantasizes about killing them, which nearly cost him his job.
Particularly disturbing to him is when he sees aspects of himself in a child abuser. One such instance was in "Shaken" when an abusive parent reminded him of an episode in which he lost his temper and slapped his daughter, Maureen, who was then a toddler; while he restrained himself from hurting her further, he was frightened by his loss of control.

Stabler often finds himself very willing to use physical force to apprehend a suspect that he believes to have harmed a child. In turn, many victims tend to respond to him very warmly. For example, in the Season 4 episode "Resilence", Stabler successfully reaches out to a 14-year old girl who regresses to a child-like state after being attacked by her father.

Stabler is partnered with Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Kathy is sometimes jealous of Stabler's close relationship with Benson, which, along with the long hours he spends on the job and away from home, has at times strained their marriage.
While Stabler and Benson are good friends, however, they have never been romantically involved. Their relationship is not without friction, as the two sometimes argue over the cases they work on. When it comes to controversial cases, Benson is very quick to side with the victims, whereas Stabler is more impartial.

Stabler has been forced to kill a suspect twice. Once, in the episode "Risk", a corrupt police officer raised his weapon at Stabler when he knew he was going to get caught. In the episode "Debt", he shot a suspect who had a gun to another person's head despite the suspect's seeming willingness to work the situation out with Benson.

In the episode, "Charisma" during season 6, Stabler was forced by Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek) to take about a week of sick time in lieu of being suspended for refusing to seek counseling for extended treatment after he and his colleagues were forced to enter a house in which a cult leader had murdered multiple children of his followers.
Here is Meloni's career filmography.

Carriers (2007) (post-production) .... Frank
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
... aka Law & Order: SVU (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Special Victims Unit (New Zealand: English title)
- Confrontation (2006) TV Episode .... Detective Elliot Stabler
- Uncle (2006) TV Episode .... Detective Elliot Stabler
- Recall (2006) TV Episode .... Detective Elliot Stabler
- Clock (2006) TV Episode .... Detective Elliot Stabler
- Informed (2006) TV Episode .... Detective Elliot Stabler
(161 more)
"Law & Order: Trial by Jury"
- Day (2005) TV Episode .... Detective Elliot Stabler
"Wonder Showzen"
- Health (2005) TV Episode .... Cooties Spokesman
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) .... Freakshow
... aka Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies (Europe: English title) (UK)
... aka Harold et Kumar chassent le burger (Canada: French title)
"Scrubs"
- My White Whale (2003) TV Episode .... Dr. Dave Norris
"Oz"
- Exeunt Omnes (2003) TV Episode .... Christopher 'Chris' Keller
- Junkyard Dawgs (2003) TV Episode .... Christopher 'Chris' Keller
- A Day in the Death... (2003) TV Episode .... Christopher 'Chris' Keller
- 4giveness (2003) TV Episode .... Christopher 'Chris' Keller
- A Failure to Communicate (2003) TV Episode .... Christopher 'Chris' Keller
(34 more)
Murder in Greenwich (2002) (TV) .... Mark Fuhrman
... aka Dominick Dunne Presents: Murder in Greenwich (USA: complete title)
That Brief Moment (2002) .... Ken
Wet Hot American Summer (2001) .... Gene
"Law & Order"
... aka Law & Order Prime (USA: informal title)
- Fools for Love (2000) TV Episode .... Police Det. Elliott Stabler
- Entitled: Part 2 (2000) TV Episode .... Police Det. Elliott Stabler
Runaway Bride (1999) .... Coach Bob Kelly
Carlo's Wake (1999) .... Bennetto Torello
Shift (1999) (TV) .... Louis
"Homicide: Life on the Street"
... aka Homicide (USA: informal short title)
- Wanted Dead or Alive: Part 2 (1998) TV Episode .... Bounty Hunter Dennis Knoll
- Wanted Dead or Alive: Part 1 (1998) TV Episode .... Bounty Hunter Dennis Knoll
The Souler Opposite (1998) .... Barry Singer
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) (as Chris Meloni) .... Sven, Clerk at Flamingo Hotel
Target Earth (1998) (TV) .... Det. Samuel 'Sam' Adams
... aka Taken Away (USA)
Brown's Requiem (1998) (uncredited) .... Sgt. Cavanah
"Brooklyn South"
- Dublin or Nothin' (1997) TV Episode .... Joe
- McMurder One (1997) TV Episode .... Joe
- Wild Irish Woes (1997) TV Episode .... Joe
Every 9 Seconds (1997) (TV) .... Richard Sutherland
... aka A Call for Help
"The Last Don" (1997) (mini) TV Series .... Boz Skannet
... aka Mario Puzo's The Last Don
"Leaving L.A." (1997) TV Series .... Reed Sims
"NYPD Blue"
- My Wild Irish Nose (1997) TV Episode .... Jimmy Liery
- Caulksmanship (1996) TV Episode .... Jimmy Liery
- Unembraceable You (1996) TV Episode .... Jimmy Liery
- Ted and Carey's Bogus Adventure (1996) TV Episode .... Jimmy Liery
- Where'd the Van Gogh? (1996) TV Episode .... Jimmy Liery
The Small Hours (1997) (as Chris Meloni) .... FL
Bound (1996) .... Johnnie Marzzone
Twelve Monkeys (1995) .... Lt. Halperin
"Misery Loves Company" (1995) TV Series .... Mitch
"Hope & Gloria"
- Love with an Improper Stranger (1995) TV Episode .... Billy
A Dangerous Affair (1995) (TV) .... Tommy Moretti
Junior (1994) .... Mr. Lanzarotta
Golden Gate (1994) (TV)
Clean Slate (1994) .... Bodyguard #2
"The Boys" (1993) TV Series .... Doug Kirkfield
Without a Kiss Goodbye (1993) (TV) .... Ray Samuels
... aka Falsely Accused
... aka The Laurie Samuels Story (USA)
Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story (1992) (TV) .... David
... aka Fatal Love (UK)
"Dinosaurs" (voice) .... Spike (1991-1994)
- Nuts to War: Part 1 (1992) TV Episode (voice) .... Spike
- Nuts to War: Part 2 (1992) TV Episode (voice) .... Spike
- A New Leaf (1992) TV Episode (voice) .... Spike
- Power Erupts (1992) TV Episode (voice) .... Spike
- How to Pick Up Girls (1991) TV Episode (voice) .... Spike
In a Child's Name (1991) (TV) .... Jerry Cimarelli
When Will I Be Loved? (1990) (TV)
"The Fanelli Boys" (1990) TV Series .... Frankie Fanelli
"1st & Ten"
... aka 1st & Ten, Training Camp: The Bulls Are Back (USA: new title)
... aka 1st & Ten: Do It Again (USA: new title)
... aka 1st & Ten: Going for Broke (USA: new title)
... aka 1st & Ten: In Your Face! (USA: new title)
... aka 1st & Ten: The Bulls Mean Business (USA: new title)
... aka 1st & Ten: The Championship (USA: new title)
- Who Stole Johnny Gunn? (1990) TV Episode .... Vito Del Greco/Johnny Gunn
- Earn This One for Ernie (1990) TV Episode .... Vito Del Greco/Johnny Gunn
- Gunn and Bullette (1989) TV Episode .... Vito Del Greco/Johnny Gunn
- Vindication (1989) TV Episode .... Vito Del Greco/Johnny Gunn
- Clean and Sober (1989) TV Episode .... Vito Del Greco/Johnny Gunn
(6 more)