Ice-T is one of Mariska Hargitay’s biggest supporters amid the release of her documentary exploring the life and legacy of her late mother, Jayne Mansfield.
“I’ve seen a lot of clips of it when she was making it ’cause she was on the set showing us,” Ice-T, 67, told Us Weekly while promoting his partnership with Raising Cane’s for National Iced Tea Day, which is on Tuesday, June 10. “I knew a little bit about it, but you can’t really know anybody’s full life until you see the whole story.”
Hargitay, 61, produced and directed the upcoming documentary My Mom Jayne, which revisits her mother’s career and uncovers just some of her family’s secrets, including the identity of Hargitay’s biological father.
Ice-T, who has played Odafin “Fin” Tutuola on the beloved series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit alongside Hargitay since 2000, noted that he heard his costar did “really well” with the new documentary. (My Mom Jayne premieres on Max on Friday, June 27.)
He added that he enjoyed seeing Hargitay promoting the film at the Cannes Film Festival last month, especially because she looked the part.
“I love Mariska when she glams up. And I also know by her mother being Jayne Mansfield, I think Mariska intensely always went against the grain, like, not glamming up,” Ice-T told Us. “And I’m like, ‘You’re glamorous. Don’t fight it. Let it go. Let it go.’”
With this movie coming out, Ice-T said, “I think she’s made her own mark.” He explained, “I don’t think she wanted to make her mark as Jayne Mansfield’s daughter. She just wanted to [be her], and I respect that.”
Ice-T added that since Hargitay has “done that” and cemented herself as one of NBC’s biggest stars while playing Olivia Benson on SVU since its 1999 premiere, he wants her to “embrace the whole thing.”
Hargitay is the daughter of actress and sex symbol Mansfield, who died in a 1967 car accident. Hargitay was just 3 years old when her mom died in the crash that she and her two older siblings survived. (Mariska was raised by her father body builder Mickey Hargitay but later learned that her biological father is Italian singer and comedian Nelson Sardello.)
The actress has followed in her mom’s footsteps and will make her directorial debut with My Mom Jayne, which will show never-before-seen home videos and photos from Mansfield’s life.
“This movie is a labor of love and longing. It’s a search for the mother I never knew, an integration of a part of myself I’d never owned, and a reclaiming of my mother’s story and my own truth,” Mariska said in an April statement. “I’ve always believed there is strength in vulnerability, and the process of making this film has confirmed that belief like never before.”
While Ice-T told Us he was excited to attend the My Mom Jayne premiere, he has also been busy with his own projects during SVU’s off season. He recently teamed up with Raising Cane’s to celebrate National Iced Tea Day.
Ice-T teased that Raising Cane’s is the perfect “afternoon date spot,” telling Us and other reporters earlier this month that it’s a “casual spot” for good food.
“This is a good place to come after the party, after the club, you got the munchies and you’re trying to hit something on the way home,” he said. “To pull up here at night … you can get something to go to bed with.”
With reporting by Nikaline McCarley
