Christopher Meloni is known to many for having brought Detective Elliot Stabler to life on Law & Order: SUV. However, he’s had other jobs beforehand, and not just in the acting field. Recently, the star opened up about one dangerous job he had early in his career, long before Stabler faced any near-death situations.
Christopher Meloni Recently Appeared On The Thanks Dad With Ego Nwodim Podcast.
Meloni is famous for playing Detective Elliot Stabler alongside Mariska Hargitay’s Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit starting in 1999. He ultimately left the show in 2011, appearing on the spin-off, Organized Crime.
Recently, it was announced that the spin-off would not be returning to a sixth season. The series finished its last season back in June 2025.
Recently, Meloni sat down for an interview on the Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim podcast. At the time, he opened up about his time working as a bouncer in New York City, long before stepping into Stabler’s shoes.
The actor shared that, one night, a waitress “frantically” came up to him, telling him that two couples had left without paying their bill. He then recounted, “And so me and the manager, you know, bust out onto Bleecker Street and there was a fresh fallen snow — a half-inch, quarter-inch on the ground and the waitress goes, ‘That’s them. That’s them.’ So me and him go running — go boom down Sullivan Street or Thompson and grab the girl and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on? You gotta go to pay your bill.’”
Meloni Noted That Acting Ultimately Proved To Be A More Stable, & Lucrative, Job For Him
Meloni shared that he soon heard a car screech up. He shared, “I’m distracted and one gets away [then] they both get away and they jump into the car and it’s their boyfriends.” Meloni continued. “And so I get onto the passenger side door. It’s closed, and they’re trying to roll up the window, and I’m like holding it down. And I said, ‘Get out of the car. Get out of the car.’”
According to Meloni, the “guy” started driving as the girl punched him in the face. He then heard the guy in the backseat calling for the driver to “slam” him into the parked cars. He then realized, “He was going to try and crush me.”
Meloni noted that the incident might have only lasted three seconds. He shared that he wondered, “When can I let go without being caught under the back wheels? I did let go finally. Freshly slapped, punched around.”
Earlier in the conversation, Meloni noted that he only made around “$40 a night as a bouncer.” He felt that acting was more lucrative, noting that he was paid around $5,500 for his first commercial.
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.