Who played Detective John Munch on SVU?

Detective John Munch on Law & Order: SVU was played by Richard Belzer.

Belzer originated Munch on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street, where the character was a Baltimore homicide detective. When SVU premiered in 1999, Belzer brought Munch into the new spin-off as a senior detective assigned to Manhattan's Special Victims Unit. His dry humor, distrust of authority, and fondness for conspiracy theories made him one of the show's most recognizable figures.

Munch was not created specifically for SVU. The character first appeared in Homicide's 1993 premiere and later became one of television's most famous crossover characters. Belzer portrayed him in several other programs, including Law & Order, The X-Files, The Wire, and Law & Order: Trial by Jury.

Belzer remained associated with SVU for 15 seasons as a regular cast member, later returning for guest appearances. Christopher Meloni played Elliot Stabler, Ice-T played Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, and Dann Florek played Donald Cragen—three frequent sources of confusion when identifying the actors behind the original squad.