Hoda Kotb Reflects On Missed Acting Opportunity On “Law & Order: SVU”
Hoda Kotb, a familiar face on the Today show, recently shared a surprising disappointment from her acting career. Despite her high-profile job in television, there’s one role she wishes she had landed.
Ten years ago, Hoda, 59, appeared in two episodes of Law & Order: SVU, but there was a specific part she had her heart set on. “I wanted to play someone who died,” she confessed to Jenna Bush Hager on the July 11 episode of Today.
“They said no,” she added.
During their conversation, Hoda reminisced about her role in the third episode of season 16, “Producer’s Backend.” She played a TV anchor reporting on a young teen star involved in a car accident after escaping rehab.
“I think I played a journalist who was interviewing somebody who might have been guilty of something,” she said, though she admitted she couldn’t recall the exact plot.
“But anyway, it was really fun,” she said.
Hoda’s acting career spans several TV shows and films, often portraying herself. Her journey began with a 2009 episode of Lipstick Jungle and includes appearances in 30 Rock, The Other Two, Girlfriends Guide to Divorce, Girls5Eva, Nashville, and Younger. She even had roles in Sharknado twice and more recently in Curb Your Enthusiasm’s penultimate episode, “Ken/Kendra.”
Last year, she briefly appeared in Jennifer Lopez’s romantic comedy Marry Me.
The topic of acting came up on Today as Jenna Bush Hager announced her acting debut in Hallmark Channel’s upcoming Christmas movie Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. Hoda enthusiastically shared her past roles, exclaiming, “I was in Sharknado twice!”
Jenna will star alongside Tyler Hynes, Hunter King, and Ed Begley Jr. in Holiday Touchdown. The movie follows Alana (played by Hunter), a Chiefs superfan who falls in love with Derrick (played by Tyler), the team’s director of fan engagement. The film, inspired by the real-life romance between Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, begins filming this month in Kansas City, Mo., including scenes at Arrowhead Stadium.
