{"id":2474309,"date":"2026-06-24T21:24:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2474309"},"modified":"2026-06-24T21:24:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:24:51","slug":"christopher-meloni-recalls-being-nearly-crushed-in-car-chase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/christopher-meloni-recalls-being-nearly-crushed-in-car-chase\/","title":{"rendered":"Christopher Meloni Recalls Being Nearly Crushed in Car Chase"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Trying to take down criminals has apparently always been in Christopher Meloni<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s blood \u2014 even before he played Detective Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meloni, 65, recalled his time working as a bouncer in New York City before he landed his role on the NBC series in 1999<\/a>, revealing he once had to chase down two girls who skipped out on the bill at a \u201clittle dive bar down on Bleecker Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrantically, a waitress comes up to me and says, \u2018Two girls ran out on the bill,\u2019\u201d he said on the Monday, June 22, episode of the \u201cThanks Dad With Ego Nwodim<\/a>\u201d podcast. \u201cSo me and the manager bust out onto Bleecker Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actor remembered there being about a half inch of \u201cfresh fallen snow\u201d on the ground when the waitress spotted the thieves, which sent him \u201crunning\u201d in pursuit of the two women.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Will Christopher Meloni Return to ‘SVU’ After Spinoff Cancellation?<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tChristopher Meloni\u2018s Law & Order spinoff Organized Crime got canceled after five seasons \u2014 but does that mean he is coming back to SVU? Showrunner Michele Fazekas was recently asked about Meloni\u2019s future as Elliot Stabler, to which she told People, \u201cObviously, everyone\u2019s always asking me about Stabler, and I love Meloni. I would use [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Meloni said when he caught up with the pair, he grabbed one girl and said, \u201cHey, what\u2019s going on? You gotta pay your bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

She tried to talk her way out of the situation. \u201c[She\u2019s like], \u2018Oh, no, let us go,\u2019\u201d Meloni said, revealing that \u201call of a sudden a car screeches up\u201d with the girls\u2019 boyfriends in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m distracted and one gets away \u2014 they both get away \u2014 and they jump into the car,\u201d Meloni explained<\/a>, but his fight didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n

He told listeners that he grabbed onto the passenger side door, which was closed. \u201cAnd they\u2019re trying to roll up the window and I\u2019m holding it down,\u201d Meloni continued. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018Get out of the car, get out of the car!’\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Christopher Meloni and Stephanie Gunn on \u2018Law & Order: Organized Crime.\u2019<\/span> Will Hart\/NBC\/Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Meloni was holding on for dear life, he said one of the women started \u201cpunching me in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen the guy in the back seat [says], \u2018Slam him against, hit him against the parked cars,’\u201d he recalled. \u201cHe\u2019s going to try and crush me against the parked cars. And I\u2019m skitching along, \u2019cause it\u2019s fresh snow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the incident lasted for \u201cabout three seconds,\u201d Meloni was well aware that he could\u2019ve been killed over a few bucks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts going and you\u2019re wondering when can I let go without being caught under the back wheels,\u201d he shared. \u201cWhatever it was, I did let go finally. Freshly slapped and punched around.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Meloni was safely back on solid ground, he recalled being perplexed at the women\u2019s motives for running out on the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just remember going, \u2018What the f*** are you thinking? What are you doing?’\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, probably for a bill of $45 or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meloni, who made his acting debut in 1988<\/a>, noted that the car chase was his most intense memory from his time as a bouncer.<\/p>\n

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\n Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni on \u2018Law & Order: Special Victim Units.\u2019<\/span> Virginia Sherwood\/NBC\/Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOther than that, yeah, I had to put down a guy with a side kick one time,\u201d he recalled of his life before acting took off. \u201cI\u2019d taken taekwondo in college and I went, \u2018Oh, it actually works.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Meloni remembered that the guy tore his shirt while he was \u201ctrying to be nice\u201d and \u201cget him out\u201d without incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he was holding on to me. I threw him to the ground and he held onto my shirt. I was like, \u2018That\u2019s just great.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Just get out of here,\u2019\u201d Meloni told podcast host Ego Nwodim<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cHe would not not get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luckily for Meloni, his taekwondo training \u201cworked\u201d and a side kick \u201cknocked the wind out of him\u201d and made him leave the venue.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Mariska Hargitay Hints at Chris Meloni Reunion After ‘Organized Crime’<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tMariska Hargitay is hopeful to reunite with Law & Order: SVU costar Chris Meloni in the future after the cancellation of the Organized Crime spinoff. \u201cI love Chris and I love acting with Chris, so I\u2019m always open to working with him and getting Benson and Stabler together,\u201d the actress, 62, said in an interview [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After college and working as a bouncer, Meloni found success in Hollywood beginning in the late \u201880s.<\/p>\n

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