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ESPN star Stephen A. Smith has been growing his profile over the past couple of years, expanding his brand outside of sports talk. But his latest appearance on the widely popular, long-running NBC series Law & Order just might validate him as a certified star. Smith appeared on yesterday's Season 24 episode “Tough Love.”
In the episode, Smith portrayed sports agent Ted Hunter, who tries to convince his client to distance himself from longtime associates who could hinder his efforts to establish himself as a reliable rotational player. Hunter is ultimately found stabbed in a park, leading the detectives to piece together what happened.
Smith spoke highly of his experience in an interview with Deadline.
“It was an incredible experience. I did some acting before I was that dead body. So, it’s not like I just show up as a dead body. I actually have a scene where I’m doing some acting, and to have the opportunity to do it on one of my all-time favorite shows, is an honor beyond comprehension.”
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Smith also relished the opportunity to be a sports agent, a far cry from his regular persona as a sports pundit with a penchant for hot-takes and theatrics.
“When they told me to be a sports agent, I’ve dealt with enough sports agents in my life to know the kind of things they say, how they say it, when to be forceful, when to back off a little bit, etc.,” Smith told Variety of taking on the part. “But still, being on a show as epic as Law & Order, you try to bring your A game. So that’s what I tried to do, because I’ve been a huge fan of the show for many decades.”
The episode highlighted HBCU talent, with Smith being a Winston-Salem State alumnus and Dushaun Thompson, who played Hunter's client Jackson Dean, being a Norfolk State alumnus.
