Chris Meloni Has Some Cheeky Thoughts About Stabler’s Most Attractive Asset
Since 1999, Christopher Meloni has been virtually synonymous with his iconic character Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime. Along the way, the star — and by osmosis, his character — has become a bona fide sex symbol in the eyes of millions of fans. And every once in a while, Meloni gets asked about it.
In a November 7 People interview celebrating his inclusion in the outlet’s Sexiest Man Alive 2025 portfolio, Meloni was asked — amongst other things — what he believes Stabler’s most attractive quality is. He was hilariously blunt when giving his answer.
“I think — according to the fandom — my ass,” he said.
To People’s credit, they followed up with the obvious question: Does Meloni himself take credit for that?
“Wow. Such a conundrum. My ass is a conundrum. Or do I have two conundrums? One on the left, one on the right? A double conundrum,” he said, laughing.
For now, the debate rages on. Is Stabler’s best physical feature also Meloni’s? Millions of fans would agree, but we’ll leave that for you to decide. As for Meloni, he also has an opinion on whether the SVU or the OC version of Stabler is… steamier:
“Organized Crime Stabler is sexier,” Meloni confessed. “There’s a certain fine wine quality to him.”
Christopher Meloni reveals the “sexiest” part of the Elliot Stabler/Olivia Benson dynamic
Later in the interview, Meloni was posed an intriguing question: What does he believe is the “sexiest” part of the will-they/won’t-they relationship between Stabler and Olivia Benson?
“Gosh. How well they know each other in an unspoken way, and I think it’s the depth of their friendship,” he explained. “And they’ve made these stabs or these attempts at making this thing another thing.”
As the Bensler relationship continues to test the waters, so to speak, in SVU Season 27, Meloni revealed what he thinks should happen between the two characters.
“Some conclusion to Benson and Stabler,” he said. “I think both characters, Stabler and Benson, should ride off into the sunset.”
Hargitay, who has portrayed Benson just as long as Meloni has played Stabler, recently teased fans in a recent TODAY appearance about their character’s potential relationship status. She seems just as on board with Bensler moving forward romantically as her co-star!
“Stabler’s in love with Benson. Hello!” she proclaimed.