Lucky Number 12: The TV Show That Launched 12 of Hollywood's Biggest Careers — From Adam Driver to Ellen Pompeo, Samuel L Jackson and More
Sept. 26 2024, Published 11:00 a.m. ET
Adam Driver ('Law & Order' in 2010 and 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' in 2012)
He's been a Gucci, a Ferrari and an ultimate Star Wars bad guy … but Adam Driver got his "bad guy" chops playing a creepy lab tech on Law & Order in 2010 before playing a sleazy stalker-turned-suspect two years later in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Claire Danes ('Law & Order' in 1992)
Playing an angst-ridden girl in My So-Called Life was no problem at all for Claire Danes — because she got lots of practice portraying a troubled teen in the Big Apple in a 1992 episode of Law & Order.
Allison Janney ('Law & Order' in 1992 and Again in 1994)
Long before she even thought about winning her Best Supporting Oscar for I, Tonya, Allison Janney gave testimony in two murder cases — at least she avoided being the victim!
Sarah Paulson ('Law & Order' in 1994)
Sarah Paulson's first role as a young teen who claims to have an affair with a murdered mom's new hubby led to American Gothic and roles in the American Horror Story franchise.
Amanda Peet ('Law & Order' in 1995)
Before her dozens of movies and TV shows, Amanda Peet went The Whole Nine Yards playing a gal who claims she was forced to participate in a crime spree.
Julia Roberts ('Law & Order' in 1999)
Julia Roberts was a Pretty Woman, but she also made a rare TV appearance with her then Law & Order star boyfriend Benjamin Bratt as a party planner involved in the death of a powerful businessman.
Leighton Meester ('Law & Order' in 1999)
Portraying the "best friend" is an old hat for Leighton Meester, who was the BFF of a murder victim before her breakout role as best buddy to Blake Lively on Gossip Girl.
Amanda Seyfried ('Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' in 2004)
After portraying a teen who gets attacked at a construction site, Amanda Seyfried got to turn the tables as one of the Mean Girls, released the same year. From there, it was on to Mamma Mia! fame four years later in 2008.
Ellen Pompeo ('Law & Order' in 1996 and Again in 2000)
Ellen Pompeo ended up as a hospitalized victim in both her appearances … she certainly knew her way around a hospital by the time she starred in Grey's Anatomy.
Jennifer Garner ('Law & Order' in 1996)
Rather than playing a victim, criminal, witness or friend, Jennifer Garner was a different kind of guest star — she played a one-night-stand lover to Bratt's married character!
Samuel L. Jackson ('Law & Order' in 1991)
Samuel L. Jackson had been kicking around Hollywood for nearly 20 years before playing a defense attorney defending a rapist … then came 1993's Jurassic Park and Pulp Fiction in 1994 — and he shot to superstardom.
Cynthia Nixon ('Law & Order' in 1990)
Cynthia Nixon played a previously assaulted woman who claims self-defense for shooting two men — eight years later she started on Sex and the City.
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