Ice-T Breaks Record for ‘SVU’ Role Despite Limited Screen Time in New Season

Rapper turned actor Ice-T has set an impressive new record, one that is especially notable given that he now appears less frequently on the series that helped him set the record.

Over on X, Wolf Entertainment, the prolific production company founded by producer Dick Wolf and renowned for creating and producing massive media franchises, most notably the Law & Order and Chicago series, shared a post celebrating the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actor and his record-breaking achievement.

Under the caption, “Breaking records @FINALLEVEL #SVU,” the account posted two pictures of Ice-T as Sgt. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola. One photo featured the text, “Did you know?,” while the other shared the information: “Ice-T has appeared in over 400 episodes across 27 seasons of Law & Order: SVU (more than any other scripted TV actor in a single role in U.S. primetime history.”

Breaking records @FINALLEVEL #SVU pic.twitter.com/IMdOxoSG8H

— Wolf Entertainment (@WolfEnt) February 12, 2026

A great achievement, but one that is slightly bittersweet considering that his screentime has been reduced in the latest season. In Season 27, Law & Order: SVU, fan favorite Kelli Giddish returned to the precinct as Sgt. Amanda Rollins, and as a result, Fin was seen a lot less around the office.

“When I came back this season, they go, ‘Well, we’re going to split the workload up between you and Kelli  this season. We’ll bring, da da da da da.’ And I’m like, ‘Cool.’ ‘We’re going to sprinkle you throughout the season. Everything’s cool,” the actor explained to TV Insider. “So I was like, ‘I’m cool with that. I needed some time off. I got a 10-year-old daughter.’ So I’m just kind of following through.”

“First, they beat me up. Here’s the thing: We have no idea what’s happening to our characters until we see the script. So I’m like, “How bad did I get beat? How bad did they whoop my a**?’ So I’m just like, ‘Whatever.’ I just roll with it. I don’t write it.”

He explained earlier in November that his absence was a purely financial decision. “It’s just basically business,” he told TMZ. “They brought Kelli back, and at the end of the day, they couldn’t keep both of us on full-time, as far as budget-wise.”

But he wants to make it clear to fans: he is staying put.

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“I’m not leaving the show. I’m more concerned with going to Season 28. So this year, they said, ‘Ice, we’re going to work you a little less.’ Everything was cool with me. I understood,” said Ice-T. “I said, ‘Are you getting rid of me?’ And they said, ‘No way. We can’t imagine Law & Order without you.'”

‘I’ve been on this show for 27 years. I’m not gonna say nothing negative about that show,” laughed the actor. “They’ve taken care of me for so long.”

Related

Ice-T Worried Fin Would Be Written Off 'SVU' in Season 27

For 26 years, Ice-T has played Fin on Law & Order: SVU, making his first appearance on Season 2 in 2000. Originally, he was booked for only a handful of episodes. “I went on the show to do four episodes,” he told Complex. “Four episodes and now it’s Season 27 and counting.”

Despite reduced screen time in the recent season, Ice-T’s longevity remains historic. With more than 400 episodes, his run as Fin stands as one of the longest and most significant single-character tenures in primetime television history.

“I’m just here for the ride. I’m enjoying it,” he told TV Insider. “And, obviously, I’ve figured out how to ride the longest anybody ever has ridden.”

Law & Order: SVU, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC

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