Mariska Hargitay Starred In A Forgotten HBO Series From Twin Peaks Creator David Lynch

Before Mariska Hargitay landed her star role on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," she starred in a little-known project of David Lynch's. The project was the three-part HBO miniseries "Hotel Room." Each episode focuses on the same New York City hotel room in a different time period: the first takes place in 1969, the second in 1992, and the third in 1936. Hargitay plays a woman named Diane in the second episode; she's not the main focus, but she is a constant presence in the first half as she hangs out in the titular hotel room with her friends Sasha (Debora Kara Unger) and Tina (Chelsea Field). 

Hargitay's episode is a charming, dialogue-driven story with a lot of energetic jazz music playing in the background. Hargitay's character spends much of her screen time talking about dating with her friends; the episode was criticized at the time for being a little too relaxed and slow-paced, but honestly, it's just a fun time watching these women hang out and chat. The three women give off a similar vibe to the gossipy female trio in Season 3 of "The White Lotus," where they get along well, but the viewer can sense tension brewing before Sasha's boyfriend shows up and she smashes him over the head with a statue. 

Mariska Hargitay is the daughter of Jayne Mansfield, a major Hollywood star and sex symbol in the '50s and '60s. Despite her mother's success, Hargitay told the Vancouver Sun in 1986 that as a kid she hadn't been interested in acting. "Acting had nothing to do with my life," she said. "Every week I changed my idea of what I wanted to be." 

It wasn't until the mid-'80s, when a casting director for the upcoming police drama "Downtown" was looking for someone with what Hargitay described as "Amy Madigan" vibes and invited her to an audition, that she realized on-screen acting might be a good fit. For the next few years, she played a wide range of TV characters, including one in the hit '80s soap opera "Falcon Crest," and in the early '90s she began starring in more dramas. Of course, this eventually led to her iconic role as Olivia Benson, making Hargitay the longest-running actor in a primetime drama.

Although Hargitay has always maintained that she's proud of her mother's career — she told the Vancouver Sun that Mansfield was much more than the "sex bombshell" persona Hollywood gave her — she seemed more interested in establishing herself as a darker, grittier performer early in her career. Hargitay's participation in "Hotel Room" coincided with a major role in the dark HBO film "Blind Spot," in which she proved her ability to handle some truly disturbing material. The film features a controversial rape scene, for instance, which (as she told a Tribune Media Services reporter) she found "really hard, uncomfortable" to film. Apparently drawn to these dramatic, difficult storylines, it makes sense that she couldn't turn down the part in the miniseries by David Lynch, who already made film history with "Eraserhead" and "Blue Velvet."

Although there's clearly something compelling about the basic premise of "Hotel Room" — the Duplass brothers would revisit it with "Room 104"  to much greater critical acclaim — David Lynch's take wasn't a hit. Janet Maslin at The New York Times trashed the show for its "three weak episodes," arguing that they featured "stories [that] go nowhere" and "anecdotes [that] are pointlessly bizarre." 

Unfortunately for Lynch, "Hotel Room" aired at a low point in his reputation: "Twin Peaks" had recently been canceled after a messy Season 2, and its prequel film "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" had been panned by critics and wouldn't be truly appreciated until nearly 20 years later. Lynch had also faced allegations of misogyny for his many depictions of sexual violence towards women in his work, and that reputation bled into the response for "Hotel Room." As Maslin wrote in her review for the miniseries, "[Lynch] has lost none of his trademark misogyny."

Decades later, most of Lynch's work in the mid-'90s has seen a massive reappraisal from critics, but not "Hotel Room." Perhaps it's just because "Hotel Room" has not yet been rereleased on any major streaming services, but the show, and Mariska Hargitay's performance, still remain largely unseen.