‘SVU’ Newcomer Juliana Aidén Martinez on Joining the Squad in Season 26: “They Were Very Intentional About My Casting”

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There’s a new detective at Manhattan SVU.

Juliana Aidén Martinez has indefinitely joined the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, starring alongside Mariska Hargitay‘s Olivia Benson, Ice T’s Odafin Tutuola, Peter Scanavino’s Dominick Carisi, Octavio Pisano’s Joe Velasco and Kevin Kane’s Terry Bruno, who has been upped to season regular.

Martinez portrays Kate Silva, a former Brooklyn homicide detective whose father is the deputy police commissioner of the New York Police Department in the fictional world of the veteran Dick Wolf show. She was first introduced in the season 26 premiere and is already making strides within the squad.

Prior to landing the role of Kate, the actress starred alongside Sofía Vergara in Griselda. Her portrayal of the ground-breaking detective who brought down Griselda Blanco (aka the Cocaine Queen of Miami) garnered her an Imagen Award nomination for best supporting actress in a limited series.

However, joining a pre-established cast and the longest-running primetime live-action series in history was an entirely different experience for Martinez.

“The creative challenge for me was, how do you honor the material and the foundation that already exists and yet bring something new that still honors the integrity and brings a different dynamic?” she tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Then finding, where is a young woman’s voice now? Where does my voice and my community, where does it reside, and where is it relevant?”

She also shares that Hargitay took her under her wing when she joined the show this summer and showed her the ropes.

“There’s kind of an innate admiration for Mariska and what she’s done for the show,. She operates so much as a captain and No. 1 in the cast,” the actress says. “That really bleeds into that kind of relationship in which, ‘You can teach me so much, and I want to honor what you have, and then bring something new to it.’ And so there’s this neat, kind of mentee-mentorship quality.”

Below, Martinez also opens up about who Kate Silva is, why Hargitay is “the biggest feminist icon,” SVU season 26’s “message of hope,” the Emmy-winning The Bear actress she’d love to guest star on the NBC show and more.

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Why did you want to join SVU?

SVU, to me, is a show that’s done something no other show has done in television history. It’s the longest-running show. It’s a show that has become such a cultural icon, but also a social platform for women’s stories and stories pertaining to sexual assault. And these are stories that typically… I have friends who’ve experienced this as well, and they don’t get the attention they deserve, nor the help they deserve. And with a show like this, I feel like it’s investing in the social progress and in women’s stories so that we can move the needle forward. And that was really, really important to me.

Walk me through the process. How did you come to be the next member of the SVU squad?

That kind of fell in my lap, to be honest. I was in New York because I was in the final running for another project, and my team had reached out to me saying, “Hey, SVU is looking for someone on their team. They’re looking for a squad member that can join on a permanent basis and really contribute to what the team is and bring something fresh and exciting. They want to see you.” And I was actually just telling my partner, I was like, “It’d be so cool to move back to New York” because I was living in L.A. for the time, post-Griselda filming. And so I sent in a tape and, within two days, they reached out, and they told my team, “We need to fly her out to New York, and we’re gonna screen test with Mariska.” I had never met Mariska before, and so justifiably, I was a little nervous. She was fantastic. It was kind of like when that finger fits perfectly into a glove. And within, I want to say, three days I joined the team.

Juliana Aiden Martinez as Det. Kate Silva.

Ralph Bavaro/NBC

When was that?

I want to say July. Everything’s been a blur, to be fair with you, since filming. I know people say it’s a bit of a machine, but it kind of reminds me of Dune, and you’re jumping on that worm, and it’s going through the desert, and you’re gonna get there. It feels a bit like that in my mind.

How has it been joining such a pre-established ensemble cast?

Well, it’s interesting, because with Griselda, that was new material, right? And everyone is joining for the first time, and you’re finding what the show is together. With SVU, a lot of it was having conversations with David Graziano and Julie Martin, our writers. Mariska was very much about, “I’m going to put you under my wing. I’m going to show you the ropes,” which I was very grateful for. Then seeing what the show was and how it’s evolved, and then finding, for me, like, where is a young woman’s voice now? Where does my voice and my community, where does it reside, and where is it relevant? And that synthesis was super important to me.

How did you find that synthesis?

It was kind of intuitive, to be honest with you. It was with the conversations that I had with the team, and then finding where that resided in society’s psyche and in my psyche. It wasn’t very linear. Just kind of taking everything by osmosis and then feeling where it authentically is happening. It was an intuitive process.

Who is Kate Silva? What can you tell us about your character?

Well, Kate Silva is the daughter of a deputy commissioner, so she’s already facing these preconceived notions that she’s a nepo baby, which, granted, her father was in the force, but she’s also someone that was deeply impacted by 9/11. She’s a kid of 9/11, as I am, as many young women are, and I feel like there’s pre-9/11 and there’s post-9/1, and you experience the shift and what I feel like this country became really starkly in that event. So that impacted her in wanting to join the force, and then she’s someone that’s fiery.

She was a homicide detective previously, so she’s very perceptive with people, very smart. She’s detail-oriented, so she kind of has the expertise of being a homicide detective, but then experiencing real-time victims. I think homicide, that form of investigation, like being a homicide detective, feels a bit more spiritual because the victim’s already dead, and you’re kind of the last bastion of hope for these victims and finding justice for them.

With SVU, you’re experiencing in real time these victims dealing with trauma and finding justice for them. And that kind of confrontation, immediate justice, I think, is going to be a really cool transition for Kate. And also, we’re going to find out in the season why she wanted to join SVU. So she’s definitely someone fiery, tenacious, smart. She’s kind of actually reminds me a little bit of [Richard Belzer’s Detective] Munch in the kind of dry humor she has, and she wants to create her own legacy of justice. So Kate’s someone to watch.

What can you tell us about her onscreen dynamic with the SVU crew?

The relationships feel really specific. Someone from the crew had actually told me that last wee. And I was like, “They kind of are, aren’t they?” So, I have definitely my relationships with the cast, I feel like that kind of blends in. With Mariska, there’s kind of an innate admiration for her and what she’s done for the show, and she operates so much as a captain and number one in the cast. With Ice T, he’s amazing as a person, he’s always giving advice every second throughout the day. I have a journal in which I kind of collect his quotes. And with Kevin, there’s a natural, playful brutality to us. We’re kind of dark and twisty as people, and so I feel like that plays out really naturally with Bruno. And then lastly, with Octavio, he’s kind of my spiritual brother-in-arms. We have really deep spiritual conversations together. He is someone I trust so deeply in the cast, and I feel like that’s really reflected in our relationship.

Octavio Pisano as Det. Joe Velasco, Juliana Aiden Martinez as Det. Kate Silva.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Now I need to hear what one of the best bits of advice he’s given you is.

Ooooh, that’s so good. He said this thing I thought was so funny: “Don’t take advice from broke people. Only take advice from rich people because they’re rich.” I’m a big finance nerd. I really believe in financial savviness for women. I don’t think it’s something that’s taught to us. At least for me, it was always like, “Well, the man will take care of you,” which I’ve resisted in the past. So I’ll be on set, and I’ll be reading these finance books, and I’ll pass one to Ice T, and I’ll be like, “Yo Ice, what do you think about this?” And he’ll be like, “Well, what’s this man? What’s his net worth? What’s he about? Like, what is it?” And I’d be like, “I don’t know, Ice. I’m just reading this book.” And he was like, “Always seek advice from people you admire and aspire to because they will keep you on the track of where you want to go.” And I thought that was so smart and so real.

I think what you’re saying about being told the man will take care of you is sometimes common in Latin cultures. So, I get it. I had a similar upbringing.

Yeah, and granted, I have grace because my father never intended that to be somewhat of a burden for me. But I always thought — and we grew up very working class — so I was like, “Well, why wasn’t I taught financial literacy ever?” Like, “Why wasn’t I taught how to have a savings account and stuff?” And that comes, I think, from ancestry and culture and resources, but I’m very much about women being able to get their bag.

You’ve starred alongside major actresses like Sofía Vergara in Griselda and now Mariska Hargitay in SVU. How has it been starring with these major pillars of female entertainers?

I feel like I’m getting a track record being around these amazing women. I feel like I’ve learned so much from both of them. There’s things I want to do in the industry. I want to be my own executive producer and my own director, and also spearhead projects and move the narrative in which we have more women in these higher positions, creating stories that matter. So, on a universal level, I feel I’m being aligned with these actresses who are really doing it. They’re just bosses, and I get to learn from them every day. And that’s really exciting because it makes the future so much more possible for me and what I want to do for the industry.

Martinez as Det. Kate Silva, Mariska Hargitay as Capt. Olivia Benson, Octavio Pisano as Det. Joe Velasco.

Ralph Bavaro/NBC

Can you think of a special moment between you and Sofía that you had on set or onscreen in Griselda, or with Mariska this upcoming season of SVU?

I feel like it’s me observing how they conduct themselves on set. Sofía was always so gracious with Andrés [Baiz], our director, where she was like, “What do you need for me? How can I deliver the story?” She really cared about Griselda, and that was, I think, a 13-year project in the making for her, and she was going to make it happen no matter what. And what I really gathered from that was the self-determination you have to have as a woman in this industry to make something happen. And then with Mariska, she is also an executive producer. She has been with the show since the very beginning. She has made this show iconic, and she really cares about the quality of work and supporting the guest stars and making sure they’re bringing their best work. And I feel like what I’ve learned from her is the spirit of collaboration, but also the tenacity she has for great work. She doesn’t want to settle, and I think those are both really wonderful qualities to have and things that I’m learning from both of them.

What is it about SVU that has kept this show running for all these years and has led to it breaking its own record multiple times?

You can’t dismiss the part that Mariska has played in that. I think that Mariska has been a huge part of the show going on for so long because she’s, to me, the biggest feminist icon there is. She’s someone who started off as a young, rookie detective with this other male detective, Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and then finding her own voice to then becoming a lead detective to then becoming a captain and a mother and leading on this new legacy. I think that’s why so many fans respond to her and they’ve kept watching.

How has it been contributing to SVU‘s growing Latin cast, especially with season 26 premiering in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month?

It feels like perfect timing. It feels wonderful. I, as a Latina, just want to celebrate, probably have some tequila shots with my friends on this day that we are bringing in the new season. Also, it’s a wonderful opportunity to show the nuances of Latinidad. We’ve only seen such a limited purview of what Latinidad can be, and we’re seeing different portrayals of that. And I think that’s really exciting. Traditionally in the past, I think people of color and communities of color have really advocated to be just seen in their humanity and not to be seen in stereotypical ways, and I think Kate Silva is an example of that. Aand I have to thank the writers, Dick Wolf and Mariska and the cast for allowing that to happen. You’re not going to see a stereotypical version of the Latina on the show with Kate Silva. I’m super grateful for that, and I feel like that’s such a cool thing to bring in Hispanic Heritage Month.

I was told that episode six is one of your favorite episodes of this season. Why does it stand out to you?

You’re going to see Kate Silva in a new and really surprising light. And what I really like about it is that you see Kate Silva kind of take the reins for stepping into the greatness that she has in her, and I think that’s just really, really cool, especially as a young woman, where you’re given the space, or you’re given the ability to take up space. Episode six is one of my favorites so far.

Martinez as Det. Kate Silva on set.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

A lot of people come in and out of SVU. Do you foresee Kate being a longer-running character like Carisi (Peter Scanavino) or Velasco (Octavio Pisano), who’s been there for a few years now?

They were very intentional about my casting. I think they wanted to make sure they got someone that could fit in with the cast, and who could be with the cast on a long-term basis and really contribute to the squad. So, even with the screen test, they hadn’t done that since, I believe they told me, like Kelli Giddish. They hadn’t done a screen test for someone in the cast. So, they were very intentional about, “We want someone to be a part of the squad.” And I really felt that from day one from them.

What can you tell us about the season overall?

You definitely get a new detective on the squad, so that’s a new energy that’s coming into the space. Then, one of the things I had talked to the writers about is that these are not light times for many people. These are very difficult times. In American society but also as just citizens of the world, we’re encountering such dark and heavy things around what’s happening geopolitically and also within our nation. So, one of the things we had talked about is this season being a message of hope and that you can tune in and feel like things are gonna be OK, no matter how dark they get, that justice will be served, and you’ll find reprieve. And I thought that was really important for times like these.

One last question, who from the last 25 seasons would you love to see come back?

OK, I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’m friends with Liza Colón-Zayas, who just won the Emmy for The Bear, and she was previously on SVU. She guest-starred in it. I was nominated for the Imagen Awards as she was, and she knew about SVU. I’ve always been part of the LAByrinth [Theater Company] community in New York, as she’s one of the founding members, and I told her that I was doing it, and that I would love some way for her to come back to the show. I mean, she’s incredible, and I’m so happy she’s getting her flowers. But it would be very cool for her to be back, and for somehow Kate Silva and her to have something together.

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Law & Order: SVU season 26 drops episodes every Thursday night on NBC, followed by Fridays on Peacock.