Stephen A. Smith had a starring role on Law & Order on Thursday night, playing the victim of a gruesome murder.
The ESPN star is a huge fan of the long-running crime show and jumped at the offer of a guest role.
But rather than play himself, Smith assumed the role of big-time sports agent Ted Hunter who demands his NBA star client fire members of his entourage to save money.
Smith is then later found stabbed to death in a park, sparking a police investigation into his murder.
Speaking to Variety, Smith said: ‘One of the writers, her name was Pam Wechsler, I ran across her in Los Angeles.
‘She walked right up to me and she said, “Would you be interested in doing this?” I said, “Law & Order? Of course!”
Stephen A. Smith was the victim of a gruesome murder on Thursday night’s Law & Order
Smith assumed the role of sports agent Ted Hunter who demanded his client fire his entourage
‘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.
‘But still, being 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.’
It is not the first time Smith has been in a TV show, despite never taking any acting classes or formal training.
He first appeared in long-running soap opera ‘General Hospital’ in February 2007 before returning in April 2016 as a surveillance contractor for the Mob.
Smith, who signed a new $100million, five-year contract with ESPN in March, has made further appearances on the show, most recently last month, but has ruled out become an actor full time.
‘It would have to be the right opportunity, of course,’ Smith said of future acting roles.
‘I mean, I have a day job that pays me pretty well, so I don’t really need the work.
‘If I’m gonna do it, it has to be the kind of [role] that I want. I want to be in the movies. I want to be on primetime television. I want to be on epic shows like “Law & Order”.
‘I want to work with great actors and great directors and stuff like that. It’s certainly something that I aspire to do. There’s no doubt about that.’