Juliana Aidén Martinez on Bonding with the Cast of 'Law & Order: SVU' Season 26

Her parents' sacrifices, shaped by a multicultural upbringing, helped make Juliana Aidén Martinez the person she is today. And now the actress is bringing her talents to one of the most famous television shows in the world.

The first-generation Colombian-American, who recently starred opposite Sofia Vergara in the Emmy-nominated Netflix series “Griselda,” is the newest cast member of NBC's “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

She joins veteran stars Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T, as well as Peter Scanavino, Octavio Pisano and Kevin Kane in season 26, premiering Thursday, October 3 at 9 p.m. ET.

Martinez portrays a new detective, Kate Silva, on the SVU team led by Hargitay's captain Olivia Benson.

In a recent interview with TODAY.com during Hispanic Heritage Month, Martinez talks about her family's “embrace” of culture and the moment she met Hargitay. She also previews what to expect from her new character, which will include “some secrets.”

Gratitude for a “very multicultural” upbringing

Martinez, who is originally from Miami, explains that she grew up with a “very relatable first-generation experience,” citing how much her parents sacrificed for her to be where she is now.

They also instilled in her the importance of embracing her culture and family values, and of course, a love of Colombian food.

“My father and aunts loved cooking and dancing,” Martinez recalls, adding that her childhood memories include dancing at family parties and playing competitive soccer.

“I was also very rooted in the way I grew up,” she says, “and I grew up more Caribbean/South American, I would say.” It was always Jamaican, Trinidadian, Haitian, Cuban… Venezuelan. I always grew up very multicultural, for which I am still very grateful today.”

She describes her hometown of Miami as “a very unique place,” but also a “very cool experience.”

Growing up at home, Univision was “often” on her parents’ television. She remembers watching a lot of telenovelas with her parents.

Even though she's from Miami, New York, where “SVU” is filmed, has a special place in her heart.

Martinez moved to New York as a teenager to study acting and graduated from Yale drama school in 2020.

“New York has always been more of a home for me in a way because I grew up as a young woman in New York City,” she says.

Your “SVU” journey

Martinez began watching “SVU” in her later teens and explained that she really became interested in the series during high school and college.

While in high school, she traveled to Europe with friends, and while in Germany, she turned on the TV and saw “SVU” playing, which she describes as “such a surreal experience” because even though “it's an American show,” she has “some international presence.”

Martinez had another “surreal” experience years later when she found out she got the job on “SVU.”

She reflects on the “very crazy, random” process that started with an email.

“I was in New York at the time because I was in the finals for another project, and I remember saying to my partner, who's also a New Yorker, 'Man, that would be so cool.' be back in New York. I really miss it.'”

Their rep explained that the show was looking for someone they really wanted to be “a permanent member of the team – as part of the crew.” They are genuinely interested in you. They would like to see what you do.”

Martinez says she auditioned and sent the tape to the team over the course of a weekend before heading to Los Angeles.

“And on Tuesday they said, 'We're going to take you back on a plane and we want to do a screening test on you right away,'” she recalls, adding that the team “was very deliberate.”

She remembers meeting Hargitay for the first time and working with Pisano and “the whole crew.”

“They really wanted to make sure it was a good fit for the team, and the experience with Mariska was incredible too,” she says.

A “powerful” reception from Mariska Hargitay

Martinez praises Hargitay for the “legacy” she created on “SVU.”

“She is a pioneer of American television,” she says. “What they’ve done with the show is something no other TV show in history has done.”

“SVU” is the longest-running primetime live-action series on U.S. television, Hargitay's Benson is the longest-running primetime live-action character and Ice-T is the longest-running male actor on television.

“I knew Captain Benson,” Martinez says of Hargitay, “but I had no idea who Mariska Hargitay was as a person.”

Martinez shares that she has her own “mechanism” that works for her and instead of making her nervous, she gets “really calm.”

She recalls a special moment she shared with Hargitay in the show's crew room on one of her first days on set.

“I was very relaxed, and then I walked in and immediately this booming voice said, 'Hey, you!' Come here.' And I turned around and there was Mariska and she gave me a big hug. She says, 'This is where you belong.'” You belong here.'”