Jalen Brunson made his scripted television debut on Thursday’s “Law & Order: SVU.”
The Knicks star, 30, appeared in the episode “Forsaken” as Detective Madison, a cop who assists Captain Olivia Benson, played by his real-life friend Mariska Hargitay, 62. The guest spot marked Brunson’s first acting role beyond his Sept. 26 hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live.”
“It’s a weird feeling, but [I’m] grateful for the opportunity, grateful for Mariska,” Brunson said at a Nov. 4 post-game press conference. “It’s pretty cool.”
The scene unfolded in a cafe where Benson approached Madison, seated on a stool by the bar. She greeted him with, “Look at you, out of uniform, huh!” and congratulated him on a recent promotion.
Madison replied, “Thanks, Captain. I focused on my goals, did 110%. Things worked out.”
The line carried double meaning: within the show, Madison referenced his career success, but it also winked at Brunson’s NBA championship victory with the Knicks this summer, which ended the franchise’s 53-year title drought.
Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson — a former player and current Knicks assistant coach — also appeared briefly in the same scene, entering the eatery for about three seconds.
The father-son cameos came during an episode centered on Benson’s investigation of a teen girl assaulted at a wedding. As the team looked into the girl’s stepfather, Rick (Bill Heck), they needed Madison’s input because he had previously arrested the man for a DWI. After Madison shared crucial information, Benson told him, “Thanks, Jay. You’re the best,” before rushing away.
The performance drew mixed assessments. Dinanda Klaassen, an actress and acting teacher at The Barrow Group in Manhattan, told The Post that Brunson’s delivery was stiff and that “he shouldn’t quit his day job for Hollywood.”
“As Robert De Niro once said about acting, ‘Don’t do anything!’. It seems Jalen listened to Bob,” she said, though she noted he did a “decent” job for a rookie. The proud Knicks fan added: “If Jalen can come back from a 29-point deficit, he can do Shakespeare in the Park for all I care.”
Brunson’s teammate Josh Hart had offered a similar verdict after the “SNL” appearance, saying: “I think his performance was fine. I don’t think he has a future in acting.”
The “SVU” cameo continues a growing crossover between Brunson and Hargitay, two prominent New York figures. Hargitay is a regular on Celebrity Row at Madison Square Garden and even left her Broadway show “Every Brilliant Thing” during the NBA finals to catch a Knicks game.
“I took four minutes off the running time of my show, and I knew the traffic would be crazy, so I sprinted from the Hudson Theater on 44th and 6th to MSG,” Hargitay told the Hollywood Reporter in June. “… The ten block sprint after a 2-show day was no joke.”
After the Knicks’ dramatic Game 4 comeback on June 10, defeating the Spurs 107-106, Hargitay quipped to THR: “I love my husband [Peter Hermann], and our wedding night was great and all, but I think it might have been the greatest night of my life.”
Brunson had previously appeared in Hargitay’s pre-taped Emmys opener on Sept. 14. The crime drama, which premiered in 1999, has a history of booking iconic non-actors, including Snoop Dogg in 2019 and Serena Williams in 2004.
The episode aired Thursday, Nov. 5 on NBC at 9 p.m. And streams the next day on Peacock.