A rock legend who made an appearance on last Sunday’s "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" told The New York Times that the role came about after she discovered "there is nothing better to dispel loneliness on the road than a ‘Law & Order’ episode."

Patti Smith said she "was especially drawn" to Detective Goren, played by Vincent D’Onofrio on the show, and decided to buy a small television for her room at home so she could keep up with the show.

"Vincent D’Onofrio invited me to the set and I was so charmed to see him and Kathryn Erbe work together that I visited the set many times," Smith says. "I even got to spend time alone in the sacred interrogation room. When I was offered a small part, I accepted for the great pleasure of interacting with my favorite detective."

She said her part on the show, in which she plays a mythology expert, required two things, "which I happily possessed: I had to have knowledge of the mythology and appear to be Detective Goren’s trusted friend."