Before Their Big Breaks: Check Out These Celeb Guest Stars on SVU

Sarah Hyland, 2001

An adorable 11-year-old Sarah Hyland sported a serious wall of bangs in Season 3's "Repression."

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Sarah Hyland, Now

Sarah can now be seen clutching her cell phone and designer purse as the ditzy but well-intentioned Haley Dunphy on ABC's Emmy magnet, Modern Family.

Ryan Kwanten, 2008

In Season 10's "PTSD," Ryan played Master Sgt. Dominic Pruitt, who formed a special bond with a traumatized Olivia Benson.

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Ryan Kwanten, Now

Australian actor Ryan Kwanten had a booming career at home, and had appeared on a season of Summerland before appearing on SVU. Nowadays, you can catch him as Jason Stackhouse on HBO's True Blood.

Rooney Mara, 2006

Rooney was a relative unknown when she played a scraped-up victim of school bullying on Season 7's "Fat."

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Rooney Mara, Now

After SVU, Rooney appeared on The Cleaner, ER, and A Nightmare on Elm Street before getting her big break as Erica Albright in 2010's The Social Network. Mara took on the role of Lisbeth Salander in the U.S. remake of the Swedish thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for which she received an Oscar nomination. Since then, Mara has taken Hollywood by storm with roles in Side Effects and Her.

Hayden Panettiere, 2001

Baby Hayden had put in a considerable amount of time as a child actress by the time she hit Season 2's "Abuse" in 2001, appearing in One Life to Live, Remember the Titans, and Ally McBeal, among others.

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Hayden Panettiere, Now

We know her best as Claire Bennet from Heroes, which ran on NBC from 2006 to 2010. Hayden now plays Juliette Barnes on Nashville.

Amanda Seyfried, 2004

Fresh off the set of Mean Girls, Amanda played Tandi in Season 6's "Outcry."

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Amanda Seyfried, Now

Right after SVU, Amanda landed the recurring role of Lilly on Veronica Mars. Since then, she's been seen on the big screen in Mamma Mia! and Dear John and stars in the forthcoming A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Paul Wesley, 2000

Prior to showing a little skin as a suspect on Season 2's "Wrong Is Right," Paul was known mainly as "Max Nickerson #2" (seriously!) for two seasons on Guiding Light.

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Paul Wesley, Now

After SVU, Paul appeared on shows like American Dreams, Everwood, and Army Wives before landing a lead role as the smokin' Stefan on Vampire Diaries.

Sarah Wayne Callies, 2003

Back in Season 4, a redheaded Sarah Wayne Callies guest-starred with the Special Victims Unit in "Privilege."

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Sarah Wayne Callies, Now

After gracing our screens for four years on Prison Break, Sarah played Lori Grimes on AMC's The Walking Dead.

Emily Deschanel, 2001

Fresh from her role as Pam Asbury in the Stephen King miniseries Rose Red, Emily Deschanel played a cellist who fell victim to stalking and assault in Season 2's "Surveillance."

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Emily Deschanel, Now

Since 2005, Emily has been wrist-deep in gory body bits as forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan on the Fox series Bones. In real life, Deschanel has a baby with husband David Hornsby, who stars in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.