Before he knew that he and Mariska Hargitay would be co-workers for over two decades, Ice T was a rapper making his way into the acting world who had booked a four-episode arc on a new-ish Law & Order spin-off called Special Victims Unit.

Meeting the rest of the cast for the first time, Ice T recalled, he had a distinct reaction to series lead Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson. Keep reading to find out what that was.

Ice T’s first impression of Mariska Hargitay

“It was interesting, because I only came on for four episodes, so I didn’t know how long I was going to have to be around the people. You’re walking into a room full of people you don’t really know. I didn’t know Chris [Meloni], I didn’t know Mariska, so I was just trying to be good,” the rapper and actor told Entertainment Weekly for a feature celebrating the show’s 25th anniversary.

When Hargitay asked him what he first thought of her, specifically, he answered candidly, “I just thought you was fine. I thought, ‘She’s a nice-looking lady. What’s happening? OK cool.’ I was like, ‘Yo, she’s fly.’” Who wouldn’t?

As for her first impression of him, Hargitay said, “I remember thinking he wasn’t anything like what I had imagined, or anticipated, or sort of projected on him. Because I was like, ‘Oh, God. He’s this rapper with this reputation.’ And then I met him, and he was just gentle and kind.”

Ice T and Mariska Hargitay are great friends

Much like Fin will always have Benson’s back, Hargitay calls her co-star her “protector,” and the two actors have a close friendship off-screen.

When Ice T was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hargitay spoke glowingly of her co-star.

“I want to tell you that it is so profoundly right that your name is now here, forever commemorated in this place. Because there is something else that I hold sacred, and that is friendship. Your achievements and your artistry and your whole verbal judo, your whole story, runs so deep,” Hargitay said.

“It runs deep particularly here in L.A. and it runs deep around the world. You’re a rapper and an actor and an artist, and at a time when people overuse words without thinking and wearing out the meanings, you are indeed the real O.G,” she added.