( EW.com ) -- The last time we saw him on our TV sets , T. R. Knight was playing `` Grey 's Anatomy '' 's beloved Dr. George O'Malley before he met an untimely end in 2009 . In his first television role since ( he 's been continuing a successful stage career ) , Knight plays somewhat against type : George O'Malley was the bumbling , baby-faced surgeon with a nervous smile and horrible luck with women ; his latest character , Gabriel Thomas from last night 's `` Law & Order : Special Victims Unit , '' is an alleged ( SPOILER ALERT ! ) `` power-reassurance serial rapist '' with a neck tattoo -- sure , the tat is of a yin-yang symbol -- but still , a neck tattoo pretty much never screams `` nice guy . '' Gabriel sure looks like George , but that 's where the similarities end . Like George , Gabriel 's into blonds , but only of the submissive variety -- that would certainly exclude Izzie Stevens . It 's rather inspired to cast an actor so associated with a recognizably benevolent character in such a disturbing role ( sort of the effect Elijah Wood had as the expressionless , evil Kevin in `` Sin City '' ) . Seeing Knight go from a bright-eyed family man one moment to a sinister predator who snarls , `` Tell me you love me , Mommy '' to the women he 's assaulting ( ick ) in the next is appropriately chilling . And , as it turns out , the dichotomy makes even more sense as , in a twist typical of this long-in-the-tooth series , Knight is pulling a Sarah Michelle Gellar and playing estranged identical twins , one of whom has a seemingly charmed life whereas the other 's is in serious shambles . It may be a long shot , but for fans , his appearance on `` Law & Order '' might be a sign of more T. R. to come . In the enduring spirit of cross-promotion , NBC seems to use `` SVU '' as a testing ground for future series leads . Beautiful relationships between NBC and stars often begin in that famous interrogation room . Just look at Hayden Panettiere 's two roles ramping up to Heroes , and Maria Bello 's significant role last season en route to Prime Suspect ( which really is getting better -- save that show ! ) . Even though Knight 's return to TV was welcome in my eyes , I found his performance weirdly unsatisfying . He did n't get to sink his teeth into his role ( s ) as much as I 'd hoped because a lot of the episode was devoted to initiating new detectives Nick Amaro ( Danny Pino ) and Amanda Rollins ( Kelli Giddish ) ; plus , his characters ' Southern accent sounded a bit inconsistent -- anyone else notice that ? See the full article at EW.com . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
In his first television role since 'Grey 's , ' Knight plays somewhat against type . He is a bit of an oddball and has no real friends or family in the film industry. He did n't get to sink his teeth into his role .