Oscar Winners on "SVU" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Robin Williams

To celebrate their 200th episode, "Authority" (episode 9.17), producers hired Rob Williams as Merritt Rook, a mild mannered sound engineer who became unhinged when his wife died in childbirth.

Rook was guilty of a variety of crimes, including harassment and arson. Towards the end of "Authority" Rook kidnaped Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). As the star of the show, Benson is regularly placed in danger.

Williams (1951-2014) was one of the most brilliant comedians of all time. However, he was also a Julliard trained actor and received four Academy Award nominations, winning for playing Matt Damon's psychiatrist in "Good Will Hunting" (1997).

Answer: Viola Davis

Viola Davis appeared on "Law and Order: SVU" a total of seven times between 2003 and 2008, playing defense attorney Donna Emmett.

Her clients included Ray Bevins (Joe Morton), a man who shot his daughter's rapist; quack Doctor Gideon Hutton (Martin Mull) and alleged Rapist Ron Polikoff (Billy Campbell).

Viola Davis is one of the most lauded actresses of her generation, with numerous awards, including an Oscar, a Tony and an Emmy. By weird coincidence, one of her SVU episodes was titled "Doubt" (2004), the name of the film which won Davis her first Academy Award nomination. She won for playing Rose Lee Maxon in the August Wilson inspired film "Fences" (2016).

Answer: Marcia Gay Harden

When we first meet Dana Lewis, she is working undercover as Star Morrison, a white supremacist (Raw, 7.6). She and the SVU team investigates eco-terrorists in "Informed" (8.1). She returned in season 12, this time as a rape victim; with Olivia's assistance, she puts her rapist in a deep dark hole (Penetration, 12.8). Dana Lewis' final appearance was in "Secrets Exhumed" (14.14), in which SVU busted her for a 1988 murder.

Marcia Gay Harden began working in television in the 1980s and had her film debut in "Miller's Crossing" (1990). She won the Academy Award for playing Lee Krasner, the wife of Jackson Pollock in the 2000 biopic "Pollock." She was nominated for her work in "Mystic River" (2003).

Answer: Mary Steenburgen

Grace Rinato grew up as abused child who wound up killing her own children. When her own mother testified against her, Grace was sentenced to life in prison. (Denial, episode 3.21)

Arkansas native Mary Steenburgen began acting professionally in 1978. She won her Academy Award fairly early on, as Lynda Dummar in "Melvin and Howard" (1980). In the decades since, she has been a regular in both films and television. Notable roles include Clara Clayton in "Back to the Future III" (1990), Helen Girardi on "Joan of Arcadia" (2003-05) and Elaine Stein in "The Help" (2011).

Answer: Marlee Matlin

We first meet Amy Solwey in "Painless" (5.22). She is a former in-vitro fertilization specialist who has spent much of her life in pain as a result of Alport's syndrome, a disease which has left her needing a new kidney. Her own struggles led Solwey to create a blog which encourages victims of chronic illnesses to end their suffering through suicide. The doctor finds a sympathetic ear in Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer).

Doctor Solwey returned a year later when SVU was investigating a stolen body parts ring involving illegal transplants. Solwey notably sacrifices her chance for a kidney transplant to save the life of a young boy. John Munch goes so far as to break the law in an effort to save Solwey. ("Parts", episode 6.22)

Marlee Matlin got off to quick start, winning an Academy Award for Best Actress for her film debut in "Children of Lesser God" (1986) at the age of 21. Much of her work since has been in television, including recurring roles in "Reasonable Doubts" (1991), "The L Word" (2007-09) and "Switched at Birth" (2011-17). Fans of "The West Wing" (2000-06) remember her as political consultant Joey Lucas.

Answer: Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burtsyn played Bernadette (Bernie), Elliott Stabler's mother, who has spent much of her life struggling with manic depression. Elliott's extremely troubled childhood does explain a lot about his own demons. His past returns to haunt him when his daughter Kathleen is arrested. Bernie explains to Kathleen about her bipolar condition, and suggests her grand daughter seek psychological help. (Swing, episode 10.3) Burstyn won a Primetime Emmy Award for her guest appearance.

After nominations for "The Last Picture Show" (1971) and "The Exorcist" (1974), Burstyn won her Best Actress Award for playing Alice Hyatt in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1975). Other notable films include starring Burstyn "Same Time, Next Year" (1979), "Resurrection" (1981) and "Requiem for a Dream" (1981). She has a Triple Crown, with an Oscar, Emmy and Tony for "Same Time, Next Year" on Broadway.

Answer: Jeremy Irons

We first meet Doctor Captain Jackson in "Mask" (episode 12.13) when his daughter is raped. He may know who her attacker is, but is restrained by doctor/patient privilege. Stabler goes undercover to track down the rapist. A few episodes later, in "Totem" (episode 12.20), Jackson serves as a consulting psychologist to help Benson and Stable track down a murderer.

After becoming one of England's most noted Shakespearean actors in 1970s, Irons began making films in the 1980s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his chilling turn as alleged murderer Claus Von Bulow in "Reversal of Fortune" (1990). Irons also has an Oscar, Emmy and Tony and was nominated for a Grammy. Other notable roles include Father Gabriel in "The Mission" (1986) and Scar in "The Lion King" (1994).

Answer: Patricia Arquette

In "Dreams Deferred" (episode 14.9), Patricia Arquette played a prostitute who had been working the streets for 25 years. The police use her to track down serial killer Craig Rasmussen. At the end of the episode, Jeannie decides to start a new life.

Patricia Arquette won her Best Actress award for "Boyhood" (2014). She is probably best known for playing psychic Alison DuBois in "Medium" (2005-11), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2019, she won numerous awards for her work in the television miniseries "Escape at Dannemora" in which she played a woman who helped inmates escape from prison.

Answer: Mercedes Ruehl

In "December Solstice" (episode 16.16), Mercedes Ruehl plays Lucia, Assistant District Attorney Barba's mother. Lucia is arguing she is still capable of taking care of her mother, while Rafael thinks his grandmother should be in assisted living.

Mercedes Ruehl is a native of Queens, so working on SVU was a return home for her. After roughly a decade of working in films, she got her big break with "The Fisher King" (1991) which earned her a Best Supporting Actress award, as well as many other accolades. Ruehl also earned a Tony Award for her work in "Lost in Yonkers" (1991). Ruehl has worked regularly in film and television in the three decades since her Oscar win.

Answer: Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg was Janette Grayson, a bureaucrat who ordered her subordinates to falsify their paperwork to make her department look more efficient. As a result, many home visits by social workers were neglected; SVU entered the picture when that neglect led to the death of an infant. ("Institutional Fail", episode 17.4)

When the neglected child dies, ADA Barba charges Grayson with manslaughter. Janette ultimately takes responsibility for her actions and pleads guilty.

Whoopi Goldberg is also a New York native. She got her start in stand up comedy before moving into acting. Her first big role was as Celie in "The Color Purple" (1985). She won her Best Supporting Actress award for playing psychic Oda Mae Brown in "Ghost" (1990). Other notable acting roles for Goldberg include a nun fleeing gangsters in "Sister Act" (1992) and Guinan, an alien bartender on "Star Trek: The Next Generation". And beginning in 2007, she has been a panelist on the ABC daytime talk show "The View." Goldberg is an EGOT winner.