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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Spoilers – Amanda Rollins Was Not An Original Character
Longtime SVU fans will remember that the character of Detective Amanda Rollins was not in the original SVU cast. The show has been on the air since 1999, and there have been many cast members who have retired or left the show, and therefore the SVU squad. Of course, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) has been there the whole time, with the second longest staying actor Ice T, who plays Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutola. Kelli Giddish, as Rollins, debuted in 2011 so she has been with the show for ten years now. However, she wasn’t a planned character addition, unlike some of the show’s characters.
Here is what happened that caused her to become a regular. Shortly after Christopher Meloni left the show as Detective Elliot Stabler, Rollins appeared in a minor role in an episode of season eight. It was love at first sight for SVU fans, and it showed by the spike in ratings for that episode. Sometimes writers will try out a new character to see if it will improve ratings, or to replace an exiting character. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but Kelli Giddish’s first appearance definitely made a difference! She has also played Detective Amanda Rollins on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Chicago PD, and Chicago Fire. She was so popular in her first appearance that she was eventually added to the cast in season thirteen as Detective Amanda Rollins.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Spoilers – More About The Actress
The character hails from Georgia, and so does the actress! Not long after moving to the Big Apple, she made her first appearance on SVU. She has also starred in her own one woman show called “Dropsy”, and in multiple television shows, including “Chase”, “Past Life”, “Life On Mars”, “Without A Trace”, “The Good Wife”, and “Damages”. Kelli was born in Cumming, Georgia on April 13, 1980. She majored in theatre performance at the University of Evansville, in Evansville, Indiana. Her first television role was in the defunct soap opera, ABC’s “All My Children” as Diana Henry.
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She also appeared in the thriller film Death in Love (2008), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and played the role of Courtney in the web series “The Burg”. The same people responsible for “The Burg” also created “All’s Faire”, in which Giddish played the role of Cindy. Her first appearance on SVU was in January 2007, in the episode “Outsider” as a rape victim, Kara Bawson. She later returned as Detective Amanda Rollins along with Danny Pino, formerly of “Cold Case” who played Detective Nick Amaro, coinciding with the exit of Christpher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler. The name of the first episode she played in as Amanda Rollins was “Scorched Earth” where Rollins worked alongside Olivia Benson during her early days on the SVU force. At the time, Giddish told TV Guide that her character was in awe of Benson, and was really eager to learn from her. Fans have been watching the two work on many crimes together ever since!
Stay tuned to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and keep checking Law & Order: Special Victims Unit spoilers frequently for all the latest news, updates and developments!