Ever since Peter Scanavino walked on set in season sixteen of the long-running crime show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective Dominick “Sonny” Carisi, he’s been a fan favorite. The Italian-American from Staten Island who offers his teammates food and takes care of his co-workers’ children is hard to dislike. This character was meant to only come on briefly, but has been in the show for the last four seasons, including the upcoming twentieth season. Although we all love Carisi, Scanavino has had a long run in the Law & Order franchise. While he’s been in other movies and television shows, a bulk of his filmography has been in the crime-show universe.
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
In 2005, Scanavino appeared in one of the many spin-offs of the popular show, Law & Order: Trial by Jury. The episode is called “Boys will be Boys”. I couldn’t find a picture except for the gif above, but considering his role was called “neighbor”, I’m assuming he didn’t have a huge part.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
During the same year, Scanavino premiered in another spin-off, which I’d say is definitely more well known and popular than Trial by Jury. With ten seasons, the show featured Vincent D’Onofrio, a very well-respected actor who we know in the nerd community best for portrayal as crime lord Wilson Fisk in Daredevil. Actors we know now, such as Jon Bernthal; even had cameos in the show before their careers blew up.
I digress. Scanavino was featured in the episode “Diamond Dogs” as Johnny Feist, a jewelry robber who always ends up killing something and is not too stable of a guy. If you’re a dedicated fan of SVU, switching to Criminal Intent is an odd shift, as you’re always waiting for the SVU-related aspect to come in. But, this episode is mostly, strictly robbery and murder, although a small psychological twist does play a major part in the end.
Law & Order
In 2009, the actor played Jim Anderson in “Just a Girl in the World”. He played the fiance of a murdered woman, who is believed to not be telling the whole truth. The episode takes place in the original Law & Order’s twentieth season, where Black-ish’s Anthony Anderson played a main detective.
Law & Order: SVU
Before Scanavino premiered in season sixteen of SVU, he came on for the episode “Monster’s Legacy” in season fourteen. Playing Johnny Dubcek, his character is the victim of childhood sexual abuse who is triggered anytime he is around a pedophile or someone he believes could be one. Though he is sent to prison for his crimes, we see Dubcek eying a convicted serial child molester as the man is brought into prison, and considering the older man’s heinous crimes, we can only hope Dubcek delivered his brand of vigilantism on the pedophile.
Law & Order: SVU
Starting in season sixteen, Scanavino went on to become a fan-favorite as Sonny Carisi. A very lovable character, you can watch his episodes on such streaming services as Netflix and Hulu. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will premiere at the Tribeca TV Festival on September 20th and on network television September 27th.
For all the SVU fans out there, what is your favorite Carisi moment?
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
