Summary

Octavio Pisano breaks down Velasco’s big episode and goals for his future at SVU.

Pisano reflects on how his real-life relationships with Hargitay and Ice-T mirror Velasco’s dynamics with Olivia and Fin on the show.

The actor reveals which cast member he’d like to work with more often and his dream guest star.

This interview contains spoilers for SVU Season 26 Episode 13, “Extinguished.”
Now in its 26th season, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been investigating vicious felonies since the late ‘90s. Though a few characters have been there since the beginning (like Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson) or close to it (looking at you, Ice-T), there are also newer faces around the squad room, like the quippy and wealthy Bruno (Kevin Kane), detail-oriented homicide alum Silva (Juliana Aidén Martinez), and loyal but closed-off Velasco (Octavio Pisano). Because of his guarded nature, Velasco has remained a more mysterious figure since he joined SVU.
Luckily, Season 26 Episode 13, “Extinguished,” allows us to dive deeper into his character as the case takes place in his neighborhood — a place he’s reluctant to call his own. However, after being pressured by Benson to connect with the community to solve the case, Velasco slowly realizes the power and necessity of having and being part of a support system. His unlikely dynamic with his obnoxious upstairs neighbor Danny and his grandfather just might be the thing to get Velasco out of his shell and overcome some of the obstacles he’s been fighting for most of his life.
Collider got the chance to dive deep into this Velasco-centric episode with Pisano himself, during which he broke down Velasco’s struggles to connect to his culture and community and what he thinks Velasco’s goals are moving forward. Pisano also shares how the show reflects his real-life relationships with Hargitay and Ice-T, characters he hopes Velasco has more interactions with in the future, the Succession actor he wants on the show, and more.
‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s Octavio Pisano Breaks Down Velasco’s Complicated Relationship With His Culture and Community

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COLLIDER: At the beginning of the episode, Velasco is really adamant that he doesn’t have ties to Washington Heights despite living there. Why do you think he’s so opposed to putting down roots and getting involved in the community?
OCTAVIO PISANO: I think it’s multifaceted. One, he’s a foreigner. Because he came from Juarez — from Mexico – he struggles like any immigrant struggles when they come here and they try to adopt the culture and embrace the country and really blend in. They want to leave the roots behind. Obviously, it’s an arc that happens with a lot of us, and then we reconnect.
But he also comes from the undercover world before he joined SVU. The backstory that we built was that he lived a very isolated life when he was undercover in the cartel for almost a decade. That’s a very isolated lifestyle, so he kind of got used to that. I think there’s a prejudice that he has against the culture but also against himself, so I feel like — through this episode — there’s a whole arc that happens within the storyline that’s pivotal for this character. It’s very cool.
Yeah, absolutely. That leads really well into my next question because you’re right, there is an arc. We do get to see him sort of come around to the idea of embracing and celebrating his culture, especially at the end there bonding with Danny’s grandpa. I’m curious if you can talk about getting to showcase that aspect of your identity and culture and what you feel is the importance of that.
PISANO: I think it’s very important, showcasing the culture, but I think it’s also embracing who he is. I had a long conversation with the writers beforehand, which I was very lucky and blessed to have because I wanted to have that arc. Every scene had a layer to it. In the beginning of the episode, he’s pushing everyone away, and it’s almost like he hasn’t embraced that part of himself.
There are a lot of things that I personally built as an actor — the psychology, the backstory of things that he witnessed, things that he might have done in the past that he carries with him, his own guilt that influences the scenes of the present through this whole thing, even in the last scene with the grandfather where the grandfather’s given him a compliment. I feel like everyone’s giving him a compliment. Fin is giving him a compliment, Benson is giving him a compliment, the grandfather says, “Thank you — I think you’re gonna do really good in the culture,” and he still can’t receive it. He struggles with receiving it. There’s almost a self-guilt that he carries with him, but I think it shows, at the end of that scene, he allows himself to receive it. And so, by the next scene with Fin, where he comes to the restaurant and he says, “Benson gave me a compliment — she said that I have command presence,” he’s now friendly with the owner of the restaurant, and Fin says, “Well, look at you — you’re pretty comfortable here.” He says, “Yeah, I guess this is my neighborhood.” I think it’s fairly clear how he’s embraced that part of himself and his own people.
‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s Octavio Pisano on How the Show’s Dynamics Mirror Real Life

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I really enjoy the dynamic between Fin and Velasco — I feel like they have a lot of similarities in ways, and they play off each other really nicely. What was it like getting to team up and work with Ice-T?
PISANO: I feel like this show’s been going on so long that the lines are blurred, right? My relationship with Mariska and my relationship with Ice-T kind of resemble the relationship Velasco has with Benson and Fin. It’s a lot more humorous in real life, but it’s great. I love working with them. It’s true camaraderie that we bring into the scenes.
It was so nice to watch you get to work with a new character, too, with Danny. Velasco seems to sort of emerge as a mentor to him, which I’m sure is a bit complicated for Velasco considering, as you said, his past negative experiences — we saw that whole arc with Chilli a couple of seasons ago. How did you approach that relationship with Danny with Velasco’s history in mind?
PISANO: I think it’s a mirror. I think it’s a reflection of him embracing himself. I think there’s a line in the conversation that he has with the grandfather where he says, “You and I are not that different. I was like you, and I understand you.” The grandfather’s telling Velasco, so not only does Velasco see himself in the grandfather, but he also sees himself in Danny and his eagerness and his desire to help. But the purity and innocence that Danny has kind of pushes him off a little bit, so I feel like, by the end of it, his stepping into the apartment is symbolic of him embracing that part of himself and almost forgiving himself. It’s almost like he’s talking to himself by talking to Danny.
Oh, I really love that. That’s such a good point. I love that storyline for that reason, but I also think it was really nice that it sort of opens up that theme of needing community buy-in because there are these neighborhoods that have been let down by the authorities so many times. I’m curious if you can talk a little bit about exploring that theme of community outreach instead of harsh, cold, distant policing.
PISANO: Yeah, and to be honest, I’m not even gonna limit it to policemen or detectives. I feel like, as a world, we’ve become so isolated and individualized — mainly because of our phones and social media and all these things where we have more connection online, but we have less connection in the real world. I grew up surrounded by communities and surrounded by a lot of people, and my life kind of took a turn specifically in the last four years since COVID and everything that’s been going on. I feel like it’s so important to have that community and those relationships in every facet. We showcase it here from doing policework and how much help and how much easier it is when you have that connection to the community, but also seeing a community come together and how important it is…I felt chills when I watched that scene.
It’s reflecting the real world, which is what SVU has been trying to do for the last 26 years it’s been on, so it’s so nice to see how these detectives can sort of grow and get into new positions. One thing I found really interesting about when Olivia compliments him is that she specifically says he showed leadership. I’m curious if you think that could be hinting at Velasco maybe getting a promotion or moving up in the squad. What do you sort of think his goals are in terms of being at SVU?
PISANO: Like I said, the show’s been going on for 26 years, so the lines are blurred. A lot of his goals are similar to my goals as an actor — the more time I can spend in this world, the better, especially because this world is so special to me. It’s not only a leadership decision and a protection of the vulnerable — it’s an honor, and there’s integrity to his character. There’s something very unique that I’ve never been able to play in my career, and the more time he gets, the more time I get on it. I hope there’s more progression. SVU changes so fast, but at the same time, it stays the same, so we’ll see. I’m excited for what’s coming.
‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s Octavio Pisano Previews What Could Be Next for Velasco

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At the end of this episode, we also find out that Velasco’s been digging into surrounding areas with similar MOs as the case they’ve just solved and really taking initiative in that way. Will we get to see more of that in a continuing storyline, or is this a more one-and-done case situation? SVU kind of does both.
PISANO: To be honest, I feel like every season changes a little bit. This season has had a lot of callbacks and a lot of characters come back from different episodes that none of us knew were gonna come back. It almost breaks the fourth wall because it’s so connected to its fanbase — it’s almost like how the world reacts to it and how the audience reacts to it influences things. Rollins has been back so many times because people love Rollins, and they love Kelli [Giddish], so we’ll see. We’ll see how it does. We’ll see how people respond to it. For me, I like to just stay in my zone and kind of have everything be unpredictable and not know what’s coming.
This question might lead to a very similar answer, but I love it when Velasco goes undercover. He’s always so good at it, and you’re always so good at it. I’m curious if there are any more undercover storylines that you can tease for us.
PISANO: I’ve talked to the writers a couple of times about it. It’s so unpredictable because a lot of the storylines are taken from the headlines or influenced by the headlines. There’s so much going on in the world, so something may happen next week and that changes. I feel like SVU is a good mirror for what’s going on in society within this niche of the criminal justice system. Velasco started as undercover, and there have been interesting undercover stories throughout, and those are always fun because you get to play a character within a character, so I’m definitely looking forward to that.
One of my favorites this season was when the whole squad was getting ready in the van and Bruno was lending him the watch. I’m curious if you have a particular favorite undercover role that you’ve gotten to play through this character.
PISANO: That was really fun. There are a couple more not coming to mind right now, but that one was fun because I love working with both of them — Kevin Kane and Juliana [Aiden Martinez]. A lot of the subject matter that we tackle is so heavy and so serious, so when we get those moments of humor and irony, as an actor, they’re a playground.
‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s Octavio Pisano Reveals Who He Wants Velasco to Interact With More and His Dream Guest Star

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This is a pretty big ensemble now. We have a very decent-sized squad, so there are a lot of combinations of people who get to pair up and relationships that emerge. Is there someone in the cast you feel like you don’t get to work with as much that you would really love to or someone you would like to see Velasco interact with more?
PISANO: Off the bat, Carisi. Early on, we were having a few scenes when I first started in the first season. Peter Scanavino and I are really close, and I really respect him as an actor — I think he’s phenomenal. He’s incredible. So I would love to see a lot more scenes with him. In the last few episodes, we’ve had moments of camaraderie. His character has been going through a huge arc, so my choices as an actor have always been to support his character, and whether it’s seen or not seen — because we don’t know what ends up in the cutting room — my work as an actor is always to support him and to develop that friendship. I always enjoy court scenes.
Those are always fun to watch, and those two characters do play off each other really well. I would also like to see more of those. Despite being a procedural, there are popular fan-favorite relationships that have emerged with Rollins and Carisi and Elliot and Olivia, of course. Since we are diving a little bit more into Velasco’s personal life, are there any characters you could see him with as a romantic fit?
PISANO: Romantically is interesting. I had an episode where it was hinted at dating — he was going on a date with some girl or trying to date some girl. I think part of the backstory was also his social alienation coming from the undercover world and how difficult it is for him to connect, especially having the job that he has. Again, the fanbase really influences a lot of what’s written. The Rollins and Carisi storyline was essentially begged by the audience, and it became a thing because of it, so we’ll see. I have no idea. Like I said, I kind of like staying in that zone where everything is unpredictable to me because I can take it as a surprise as the character would.
For sure. I have to say, I interviewed Kevin Kane last year, and he told me that you were the one who was good at memorizing the best Bruno lines — of which there are, of course, many. Is there a Bruno line off the top of your head that’s your favorite?
PISANO: Yes. “My gobs are smacked and my gasts are flabbered.”
He said the same one!
PISANO: That line…he caught me off guard. At first, when he said it, I was like, “Wait, I have to look that up. What does that even mean?” And then, when I read it, I was like, “There’s no way…” And then, in the scene, the way he delivered was brilliant. You have to be a master actor to be able to pull that line off. Hats off to him. He’s great.
It’s such a good one. I need more Bruno and Velasco.
PISANO: “My gobs are smacked and my gasts are flabbered.”
I need to try to integrate that into my own vocabulary.
PISANO: There should be a whole dictionary of Bruno lines.
That’s some merch we desperately need. My last question for you is that this show is known for having these very high-profile guest stars. If you could have anybody come work with you on the show, who would your dream guest star be?
PISANO: Oh, there’s so many. There’s so many people we’ve had. Nowadays, that’s subjective, right? I’ve interacted with a lot of actors that, to me, have that star power but they’re not known in the world. And then there are some actors who have come in, and they’re known through social media, and they have some star power, but they don’t have that thing. I just feel like I respect actors in general. I love actors, and there are so many great actors out there. Jeremy Strong would be mind-blowing to have — just the layer of performance that he could deliver as a good bad guy.
There are so many actors. But again, we’ve had a lot of young actors who are straight-up coming out of school, and they’re just mind-blowing. We’re a hub for launching careers almost. It’s a blessing. When I first came to New York, I found out SVU was like an actor’s rite of passage, so I’m excited for everyone who comes in because whether they’re a star now or not, they’ll be a star eventually.
New episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit air every Thursday at 9/8c on NBC.

Law and Order: SVU

Release Date

September 20, 1999

Network

NBC

Showrunner

Robert Palm, David J. Burke, Neal Baer, Warren Leight, Rick Eid, Michael S. Chernuchin, David Graziano

Writers

Dick Wolf

Franchise(s)

Law and Order