Christopher Meloni Has a Perfect Name for Taylor Swift's (Imaginary) New Dog

Forget Olivia Benson the cat, Meloni thinks the "Shake It Off" singer needs a pit bull named Elliot Stabler!

Christopher Meloni, best known for playing the role of Detective Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU for 12 seasons and having the "Best Butt in Primetime," has a message for Taylor Swift.

The "Shake It Off" singer recently introduced her cat, Olivia Benson, to the world. We broke that news to Meloni who was on hand to help launch Duracell's newly expanded Power Forward fleet that provides free Duracell batteries, WiFi and mobile charging within 24 hours after a natural disaster. "She should get a pitbull and name it Elliot," he told us. We can just picture T. Swift frolicking around New York with her pit bull Elliot Stabler and kitty Olivia Benson in tow!

Meloni left NBC's long-running crime drama after the conclusion of season 12, not returning for an on-screen goodbye. During a recent round of press, his former costar Mariska Hargitay said she's been trying to get him back on the show. How so?  "She sleeps outside of my apartment. It's really distracting," he joked.

Now in season 16, Hargitay's Olivia Benson is the head of the SVU squad and recently became the foster mother to baby Noah. Meloni, who said he doesn't watch the series, said, "I'm sure she's a fantastic mother."

Up next for the Emmy nominee who recently starred in Fox's short-lived Surviving Jack is White Bird in a Blizzard opposite Eva Green and Shailene Woodley. "It's a great, small film that I got to do with them. It's a departure from what I usually do," he said. "I play a guy who is browbeaten and overwhelmed by his wife. Her emotions run the family."

Meloni's film work includes roles in Man of Steel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, They Came Together and of course Wet Hot American Summer. Rumors about a sequel to the cult-hit flick about a summer camp have run rampant for years, most notably with potential follow-up landing on Netflix. When asked what he's heard about the sequel, Meloni said he's only heard the same thing that's been in the press, but hopes to be a part of whatever form it takes. "I'd love to be," he said.

As for his Best Butt in Primetime title, which was bequeathed to him by Surviving Jack costar Rachael Harris and furthered by Hargitay, Meloni said nobody else compares.

"Oh I don't know that I have any competition," he said. "But absolutely, absolutely I agree with it.

 

—Reporting by Beth Sobol