The Big Picture

Kevin Kane was pleasantly surprised to join
SVU
last season.
Kane praises Mariska Hargitay’s directing skills, highlighting her infectious joy and encouragement on set.
Kane reveals his dream guest star.

Many detectives have worked in the 16th Precinct over the years. From staples who have been there since the beginning (or close to it) like Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Fin Tutuola (Ice-T); to favorites like Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish); and even those who were there a short but sweet time like Kat Tamin (Jamie Gray Hyder) and Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett). In all the years since, a number of people have joined the elite squad in its two and a half decades on air, but one of the most delightful is, no doubt, Terry “Moneybags” Bruno.

Though Bruno only came onto the show in the middle of its 24th season, he’s already made quite the impression, with his wild one-liners, interesting background working for the Bronx SVU, and the fact he’s so rich he doesn’t even need to work at all. A big part of why he’s so lovable is due to the expert performance of Kevin Kane. Kane is no stranger to SVU, having guest starred on the show a whopping four different times before landing the role of Bruno. In addition to his long Law & Order resume, he’s also an Emmy winner for his work on the sketch series Inside Amy Schumer.

In an exclusive interview with Collider, we got a chance to speak to Kane about what it’s like being directed by Mariska Hargitay, whether there have been any conversations about making him a series regular in Season 26, who he’d like to work with in future episodes, and lots more.

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Release Date September 20, 1999

Kevin Kane Reveals What Mariska Hargitay Is Like as a Director
Image via NBC

COLLIDER: Obviously, we’re celebrating the show’s 25th season. How did it feel to be asked to come in mid-last season and be part of something with that kind of legacy?

KEVIN KANE: It felt amazing and really unexpected. I had done an episode that Mariska directed a few years before, and I was prepping our series Life & Beth. I was on a director scout in New Orleans, and they called me like, “What do you think about coming in to do this role?” And I was like “yes” immediately. I was very surprised. I’ve been on the show a bunch over the years, and I know what it means just being a New York actor. There’s something really special about it.

We’re going to see another episode Mariska directed this season. What’s it like to work with her as a director?

There’s such a joy in her for directing. She loves it so much that it’s so infectious and really nice to be around. You really want to explore, and she gives you the room — she makes you feel like, “We’ll just go for something.” Sometimes, on the show, you have to keep giving the audience very specific information, and you get a little in your head. You’re like, “Am I insane? Did I say everything right?” It’s this out-of-body experience, and she has this way of grounding everybody and making it feel alive again like the first time.

Will Bruno Be Back for SVU Season 26?
Image via NBC

Since we are in the 25th season, if you had to guess, what do you think Bruno will be doing 25 years from now?

It’s a toss of the coin. I could say, with all this money, he could be living this sweet, sweet life, or the money could end up ending this thing short and not making it to 25 more. A quick injection of cash goes either way.

Of course. We love Moneybags. I certainly hope we get to see him that long. I’m curious if there have been any conversations about maybe becoming a serious regular in Season 26.

This has been kind of a crazy year because we’re doing half a season. I think this just goes to show you that Wolf Productions was ready to charge out of the gate the second the strike ended faster than anybody. So we’ve been really flying by the seat of our pants this whole ride. We’ve been making 13 episodes in a short amount of time — shorter than we normally do. I’m just happy they keep asking me back. We have this running joke with Ice-T — he’s like, “Just make sure you’re not bleeding at number 13. Make sure when we get that script, we’re not bleeding.”

Kevin Kane Reveals His Favorite Parts of Filming ‘SVU’
Image via NBC

The dynamic between Bruno and Fin is so much fun, and they’re comedic relief in different ways. Do you have a favorite line that Bruno has said? He’s so witty and quick with it.

You know who the best person to ask would be? Octavio Pisano. Because he files them — he has a list. With me, I’m just happy to be their guest star, so I will say the line until Mariska or somebody else is like, “What does this mean? Maybe we should change this a little bit.” There were some where, when I really thought about it, I was like, “Did I really say that?” There was one last season that was a play on the word flabbergasted.

I know exactly what you’re talking about.

“My gobs are smacked and my gasts are flabbered.” I have a line that I’m like, “I have to say this,” and then I do, and then you feel like a little bit of a cleanse afterward. Whereas, if you put a gun to my head now, I couldn’t remember what the line was. [Laughs]

You mentioned working with Octavio. The good cop, bad cop interrogation scene this season has been one of my absolute favorites. What was it like filming that? Because that was so much fun to watch as a viewer.

It’s really fun. Sometimes, the show clips along so fast that when you get time to do something, it’s really a great time for us on set. I enjoy this set so much because the people are so great and fun to work with — I especially feel like Octavio and I really have a thing. That was our first time being able to kind of play with each other on camera, so that was really nice to do.

Related Sorry Benson and Stabler, This Is the Best Detective Duo on ‘Law & Order: SVU’ They brought the light in an otherwise dark series.

The dynamics between Bruno and everyone else are so fun. He fits into everything so well and adds a real sense of comedy but also keeps everyone accountable, which is really nice. I’ve been interested in seeing his dynamic with Olivia this season, especially as she goes through the Maddie arc. Obviously, Bruno’s really supported her, but he’s also given her some pushback and challenged some of her views and decisions. Why do you think it’s important for him to push back sometimes, even though she’s the boss of things?

You know, it’s funny — they put these things in the description, and you just kinda have to figure them out. I’m like, “This is the only woman who believed in me. That’s why I’m here. And now I’m questioning her?” But I think there are little subtle things they were putting in there. I remember in the first episode, she started saying too much in front of Maddie’s mother, and I would just gently touch her hand to remind her, “Stop talking.” Little things worrying about her own well-being and reminding her not to get in her own way. That’s been a fun way to justify that kind of confrontation and pushback.

Kevin Kane Has Nothing but Love for ‘SVU’ Fans
Image via NBC

The fans are extremely passionate. I feel SVU fans are a breed of their own. I’m curious if you’ve had any particularly meaningful or particularly wild fan interactions since you started.

No, they’ve all been great. Whenever we’re on location, people line up, and it’s really funny to see. I’ve had nothing but really good interactions, and I’m just so happy to have them and to be here. I do this other show called Life & Beth, and it’s sort of comedy crowd-specific. I think to be a fan of this show means you’re looking to connect and feel compassion and empathy and all those kinds of things. So whenever there’s an interaction, there’s always an abundance of it. I always like it.

You do come from a very comedy-heavy background. This is sort of a departure from that since it deals with really dark subjects, but I’m curious if you feel that your comedy background has actually prepared you for this show in any way.

I kind of fell into comedy by accident. I trained as an actor with Amy Schumer and these other actors. We started a theater company, and we were doing all of these really serious plays. And we would have this comedy fundraiser that would pay for the serious plays we wanted to do, and the comedy fundraiser kind of took off. They wanted a pilot from Amy, so she pitched the sketch show, which is what we were doing on stage to raise money for dark, serious dramas.

So I’ve always had this split personality in the business where I meet people on either side, and they’re like, “I don’t understand. I can’t see you doing comedy,” or in the comedy world, “I can’t watch SVU and watch you do serious. I just don’t know if I could do that.” So it’s been kind of funny to balance between both shows and see the different reactions. But it all comes from the same place for me, and honestly, making both shows, I laugh just as hard on the set for different reasons. For comedy reasons, it’s grueling because they give you such a low budget, so you make the best of it. For SVU, the subject matter’s very heavy, so you have to take a breath and be light as much as you can.

It’s always nice when there is comedic relief, even in the episodes. I think it makes it a more enjoyable watch and helps it even hit harder.

Yeah. It’s funny — I get a little gun-shy. Even today, with this episode we’re working on now, it’s so dark and so heavy. It’s like, “Maybe now is not the time to crack a joke here, Bruno, at this moment. But I was like, “Oh, I could see where the joke would be.” You kind of pick and choose your moment.

Kevin Kane Wants to Work With These Two Actors on ‘SVU’
Image via NBC

People love to ship. Many fans of this show love to ship characters together, so I have to ask, if you had to pick another character on the show for Bruno to be with, who do you think is his best match?

Wow. That’s a really hard question. I don’t know if you’re going anywhere with this, but Peter Scanavino and I have a really good time together, so I feel like that would only spill out onscreen.

I love that. People ship everybody, you know?

We have a lot of friends in similar circles and stuff like that, so we get along really well.

I’m here for that. I would love more Bruno and Carisi. I need that in my life. This show is known for having very high-profile guest stars. If you could have anybody come work with you on the show, who would your dream guest star be?

Amy Schumer, and I’d like to arrest her personally. And I want some kind of tagline saying she’s busted when I’m putting her in the car.

Of course. Gotta get one of those very memorable lines in that moment. I love the nickname Moneybags — I think that’s such a fun one. My last question is, what do you think your squad nickname would be?

Let me think here…Moneybags is such a good name that my wife started calling me that whenever she needs something.

That’s incredible behind-the-scenes content right here.

She says, “Listen, Moneybags — I need a check for something for our kids’ school.” So I think Moneybags started to spill over.

Moneybags is you. You’ve fused into one.

[Laughs] But it means two different things. In my world, it just means I’m in service of others.

SVU airs new episodes on Thursdays at 9 pm EST on NBC.

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