It's about to get personal for Harvey on 'Suits' season finale, says Gabriel Macht
by: Sheri Block
Date: 10/31/2011 11:33:00 AM
After playing a fast-talking lawyer with no emotion on “Suits,” Gabriel Macht says we will see a different side to his character Harvey Specter as Season 1 comes to a close.
In the season finale titled “Dog Fight,” airing Monday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo!, Harvey tries to make amends after he realizes he put away an innocent man for murder several years ago while working as a district attorney.
“(Harvey) has got to come up with a way to free this young man… so that (weighs) on him and I think the means and the way he does it is very interesting,” Macht tells CTV.ca over the phone.
“Chi McBride comes in to play the new interim district attorney and he’s terrific. He’s sort of like this tree, this guy who you can’t shake. He makes it very hard on Harvey but we’ll see if Harvey figures a way to get himself out of this one.”
In “Suits,” Macht plays one of New York City’s top legal closers and a senior partner at law firm Pearson Hardman. He recruits the brilliant young mind Mike Ross (Toronto-native Patrick J. Adams), who has a photographic memory but no law degree. Together, Mike and Harvey work together to solve tough cases, while trying to keep the truth about Mike’s background hidden.
As much fun as it’s been to play a heartless lawyer in expensive suits, Macht says it’s also been exciting to reveal another side to Harvey’s personality.
“He’s been all about business, all about winning, all about teaching Mike a thing or two and figuring out how to solve each case week by week but now it has become a little bit more personal as some of the skeletons in his closet have come out. I’m hoping that in Season 2 we see a little bit more of that because those are the most challenging scenes to play.”
As well as Harvey’s fight to free an innocent man, Mike will also have a battle of his own in the season finale when his old nemesis Trevor (who just happens to be the ex-boyfriend of Mike’s girlfriend Jenny) shows up on his doorstep.
The dramatic finale will wrap up the much-acclaimed first season of “Suits” that has garnered plenty of praise from both critics and fans alike -- and earned the series a renewal for Season 2.
“I feel like it’s become a real beloved show. People are really excited about it and they’re talking about it,” says Macht.
He says one of the reasons he thinks the show resonates with people is because it’s a new take on the procedural format.
“I think the characters and how they talk to each other really exists in the workplace and (the audience) can relate to (that).”
And unlike most law-based show, “Suits” situates a lot of the legal drama outside the courtroom.
“We bring it into the conference room or somebody’s apartment, on the street or in somebody’s office, we’re trying to get out of the courtroom and I think that makes it a little bit more fresh,” says Macht.
Macht says it’s always hard to tell if a show is going to do well but he had a feeling the show was going to get picked up after they shot the pilot.
“I thought it was intelligent storytelling, the writing was really solid and interesting, and people could relate to each and every one of these characters… while we were shooting we had some really great directors come in and the writing just got better and better and better.”
Macht also says not only is there chemistry between him and Adams, but the entire cast. In fact he’s been friends with Sarah Rafferty, who plays Harvey’s assistant Donna, for almost 20 years.
“Let’s put it this way, we’re all people who are very different from all of our characters, which is really kind of interesting… I’m very different from my character. I can’t talk my way out of everything,” says Macht with a laugh. “I believe family is more important than work.”
Macht has had a long career in both TV and film, including as the lead in 2008’s action-comedy “The Spirit,” while “Suits” has been called a “breakout role” for Adams.
But Macht says he isn’t mentoring his co-star about the business like he does onscreen.
“Patrick’s a really mature guy and he’s very bright. He’s got a ton of hobbies. He doesn’t really come to me for much for that kind of stuff. Here and there we’ll talk about acting or the business and how to communicate with representation or the press or something, little bits and pieces, but he’s got it down. He understands how the business works at a very early age, way better than I did early on.”
Season 2 will begin filming in April in Toronto and Macht says the threat of people finding out about Mike’s secret will continue.
“In (the new season), I think Harvey’s going to put him into night law school,” says Macht with a laugh.
Macht also hints that Hardman (as in the other half of Pearson Hardman), might come out of retirement to shake things up.
“That’s the only piece of the puzzle I know is coming. Obviously I think the Mike and Rachel stuff is going to continue because they definitely have a real spark between them and I think Jenny and Trevor are going to continue on.”
And what about a love interest for Harvey?
Macht says something might be in the works but isn’t sure if it will be someone who resurfaces from his past or someone new.
“I don’t know if he’s quite ready to settle down but if the right woman did come across his path he might be.”
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I love hearing him talk about the show and the other cast members. .