LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT's Octavio Pisano Previews Velasco's Team-Up with ORGANIZED CRIME's Reyes - Give Me My Remote : Give Me My Remote

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LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT’s Octavio Pisano Previews Velasco’s Team-Up with ORGANIZED CRIME’s Reyes

May 17, 2023 by  

Law and Order SVU Organized Crime crossover

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “Blood Out” Episode 24012 — Pictured: Octavio Pisano as Det. Joe Velasco — (Photo by: Scott Gries/NBC)

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT’s season comes to a close with a crossover finale event, as the squad tries to get to the bottom of a far-reaching revenge-for-hire scheme. (The three-part arc kicked off on ORGANIZED CRIME on May 11, with the final two hours airing on SVU and OC on May 18.)

With the SVU and OCCB squads intermingling, Octavio Pisano—who is no stranger to crossing over to ORGANIZED CRIME—worked a bit with OC’s Rick Gonzalez, who plays Detective Reyes.

“Velasco is aware of Reyes, but they’ve never worked together,” Pisano tells Give Me My Remote.

When it comes to how the duo finds their investigative rhythm, “just the way they go about the cases, the questions they ask, the way they go about the room investigating is very similar,” Pisano says. “Similar backstory, similar background, similar age. And it’s just the way they see the world is very similar.”

The pairing was meaningful for the actor off-screen, as well. “On a personal note, I used to look up to Rick as an actor growing up,” Pisano says. “And I knew about him probably 20 years ago, when I was still in Mexico. So having worked with him, it was amazing. We have very similar stories [in real-life], and we both have seven-year-old girls. It was great getting to work with him.”


SVU Muncy and Velasco

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “Debatable” Episode 24020 — Pictured: (l-r) — (Photo by: Ralph Bavaro/NBC)

It’s a different kind of quasi-partnership for Velasco, who has had a complex relationship with SVU newbie Muncy (Molly Burnett) this season.

“I think he likes her,” Pisano acknowledges. “I think he considers her a friend, more than a coworker. I do think there’s maybe some emotions developing, some feelings. But I think he’s not aware of them. I don’t think he’s consciously leaning into them.”

And though Benson (Mariska Hargitay)—who has voiced concern about the would-be partners’ potential blind loyalty to each other—has been going out of her way to separate the possible partners, Pisano admits he thinks Velasco understands her reasoning.

“I think he ultimately wants to keep it professional,” he says. “I think he sees Muncy in a different light. And I think he feels a little bit protective over her. Because she does bring a vulnerability to every case that he maybe doesn’t. But I don’t think [them being split up as partners is] anything personal. I think he understands that Benson is wise enough to see any sparks happening, and to understand that that’s not the place to have them.”


LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: 'One More Tale of Two Victims' Photos

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “One More Tale of Two Victims” Episode 23004 — Pictured: (l-r) Octavio Pisano as Detective Joe Velasco, Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins — (Photo by: Heidi Gutman/NBC)

The crossover also allowed for Pisano to reunite with former SVU star Kelli Giddish, whose Rollins was a frequent partner for Velasco last season—and whom Pisano previously credited with reminding him to “take the work seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously.”

“Unfortunately, [Velasco] doesn’t have a lot of scenes with [Rollins],” Pisano notes. “But she came by my trailer…to surprise me. I haven’t seen Kelli in a while, and it was beautiful to see her. And I’m sure that the audience is going to be so excited to have her [in the crossover].”

“There’s all these lines that were blurred, because, personally, she was the first person I met with when I came to SVU, and for Velasco, all of those scenes were with her,” he continues. “She became a little bit of a mentor, and obviously I was very sad when she left, but I’m really excited she’s [in these episodes].”

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC

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Filed under Law & Order: Organized Crime, SVU

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