Mariska Hargitay celebrates opening week on Broadway

Mariska Hargitay has opened up about her latest major career milestone.

At a celebration of her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing on Tuesday, Hargitay told People magazine what she's learned through her work on the show so far.

"It's a lesson that I keep learning, and I think that it's a lesson that keeps just dropping a little bit deeper, and that is of empathy and compassion, and we never know what somebody else is going through, and so we can never judge that," she explained.

The longtime Law & Order: SVU star added, "We accept, and we love, and we love deeper, and we love harder, and we love in a more whole way, and it's the greatest gift, greatest thing we can learn as humans."

The longtime Law & Order: SVU star has just completed her opening week of the show at the Hudson Theatre in New York City.

The latest star of the acclaimed solo play was supported at her debut by Jodie Foster with her eldest son Charles Bernard Foster, Candice Bergen, Diane Sawyer, Kelli Giddish, Danny Pino, Katie Couric, Neil Patrick Harris, Hugh Dancy, BD Wong, Christopher Meloni, and more.

According to Deadline, Hargitay's debut week was a huge success with attendance at 97 per cent capacity. Although box office takings dropped off from the previous week when Daniel Radcliffe made his final performance with a record-setting $2 million (£1.5 million), the figures were comparable to his earliest weeks in the role.

The Broadway production marks a new chapter for the Emmy-winning actor, who was announced to take over the role from Harry Potter star Radcliffe earlier this spring.

Hargitay's role in Every Brilliant Thing comes a year after making her directorial debut with My Mom Jayne, a documentary about her mother, the late Jayne Mansfield.