There is something interesting about Detective Kate Silva in Law & Order: SVU Season 26. And we’ve only just met her. Juliana Aiden Martinez gives us a look at the character and teases things to come in this exclusive interview.
In the Law & Order: SVU Season 26 premiere, we pick up with Silva being with the SVU team for three weeks now. There’s a little bit of backstory, but it’s clear that she gets along with the group. She is also there for her own reasons, and she doesn’t want special treatment just because of who her dad is.
While Martinez shared about Kate, she also shared why this role is so important to her. After all, SVU is an iconic and socially-important show.
Precinct TV: How would you describe Kate coming into Law & Order: SVU Season 26?
Juliana Aiden Martinez: The writers put a lot of heart and thought into Kate. She’s someone who reflects who a young woman in my generation is like today, someone who grew up in New York City. There are also times I believe we’re in an era that demands action and hope and that we can do better. I think Kate is someone who’s fighting for that promise.
She’s tough, she’s really smart, she’s vibrating tenacious, she’s mysterious. I think people are going to be really intrigued and feel like they can relate to her.
PTV: Is that something that drew you to the role in the first place?
JAM: One of the things was having the opportunity to work with Mariska was a huge highlight for me. I think what she has done with the show and the legacy that she’s created is truly inspiring. No one’s been able to do that, whether it’s man or woman, and she has been able to really create a show that’s been so impactful, especially with the messaging where it deals with sexual assault and how commonplace it is.
Women from around the world have experienced some form of sexual discrimination, assault, or some kind of unwanted advance deals with topics. I think it’s been really important for me to show how important it is for women’s stories to be heard.
PTV: Sadly, it’s something so many of us can relate to.
JAM: Yeah, and what I love about the show is that there’s people who are fighting for justice on somene’s behalf. They want to see a solution, and they want to see some form of healing. I think that’s incredibly powerful and necessary.
PTV: We meet your character, Kate, three weeks into her being with the team. Did it help feeling like your character was already established in the team?
JAM: There’s a kind of interesting nuance where we know from Kate a few things. We know that she’s a child of New York. We know her dad is a cop, who was a cop for 25 years and deputy commissioner for 10 years. We know that she grew up seeing her father working through the ranks. She’s also been deeply impacted by 9/11, and we know she’s already made it to being a second-grade detective in Homicide.
There’s a level to her going through the ranks. Now she’s gone from Homicide to SVU. We get to see what she’s really good at, but also what she needs to learn. Why would you do something crazy like going from Homicide to SVU? Those are the things that unravel.
PTV: I was going to ask if you could tease anything about that.
JAM: I think what I can say is that when I talk to the writers about so many things that I’ve experienced as a young woman and my friends have experienced as young women that Kate is very fiery and has a sense of myster about her. She wants to be taken seriously and has a sense of professionalism, but there’s badassery that she’s going to get what she needs to in order to solve the case.
I think people are also going to find her very relatable.
PTV: She doesn’t want to be treated specially just because of who her father is. Can you tease what that is going to be like as she tries to avoid, I guess being pigeonholed?
JAM: I think so many of us feel in our lives when we work so hard at something we don’t want to be overshadowed by a parent, or school, or someone we’re related to. I want someone who can see my accomplishments and what I care about as being something that matters to me. I think Kate is the same.
PTV: We’ve got some older teenage girls and young women watching this series. Is there anything you’d like people to take from the portrayal of your character?
JAM: There’s a cool aspect to Kate. I wanted to incorporate more of how women are nowadays, whether that’s the way we dress or the way we talk. We are more than what our mothers could be or what our grandmothers could be. We’re really pushing the barriers of how powerful and how much space we can take. I think that is an example of how we are changing as women today, and how we’re changing how transparent and honest we are.
PTV: Benson has already started that but there’s still more work to do.
JAM: Yes. Olivia had to find her own sense of autonomy and her own healing. I think there’s no one else who can teach Kate how to do that with grace. We can hopefully make it better for the next person, and for the next person, etc.
PTV: Behind the scenes on Law & Order: SVU always looks like a family. Did that help you coming into the series, or did you feel the pressure of coming in on such an iconic show?
JAM: I think anyone would be lying if they don’t feel nervous entering such a show with incredible legacy and history/ I have tremendous respect for the fan base and what the show has done; what the cast has done.
I will say that the cast has been incredible welcoming to me. I feel like I can take the space to bring someone who’s completely unique and original. The cast is a family. They’re really down to earth and we laugh every day.
Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.
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