Suits has had quite the comeback in the last couple of years, breaking streaming records on Netflix while also securing an official spin-off titled Suits: LA, which is set to star Arrow’s Stephen Amell. Old and new fans of the franchise have gotten to see some of their favorite OG cast members reunite amid this Suits resurgence via Super Bowl commercials and a watch-a-long podcast. Now, with all this renewed interest, it begs the question: Will we see original Suits characters return to the franchise? Well, Harvey Specter himself has some answers.
In an interview with E! News, Gabriel Macht, who played lawyer Harvey Specter for the full run of the network drama, revealed he currently has no interest in putting the suit back on. Unlike his co-star Patrick J. Adams, who would love to return when the time is right, the Love & Other Drugs actor says he "needs some time away" from Harvey, as he started to see too much of the character in himself:
In the very beginning, if you asked anybody on set who was least like their character, they would say me. There was a very relaxed version of me that just wanted to enjoy, be non-confrontational, have fun, live and let live and not get in and manipulate situations.
The early days of Suits revealed a very flawed character in Harvey. Someone who treated Louis like dirt, didn’t appreciate Donna enough and only cared about his individual wins. A lot of his selfish decisions came back to bite him in the butt, including hiring Mike Ross as a fake attorney. Though it gave Mike a chance to fulfill his dreams of becoming a lawyer, it opened the door to the world of corporate law and shady business deals -- the very world of power that had shaped Harvey’s egotistical character in the first place.
For someone who is not at all like Specter, it must have been a challenge to play him at points. Certain moments, like when he would yell at Donna in frustration, come to mind, especially given he’s good friends with Sarah Rafferty in real life. When you spend half your time in that suit though, behavior like that becomes second nature according to Macht:
At a certain point, you become more like Harvey as you go in, and it's very hard to shake some of the energy that dresses you while you're in that world. I became a lot more like Harvey than I was when I started, which was another reason why I needed time away—to allow him to go back to where he came from.
Being a main cast member, reacting as Harvey would likely became instinctive, and some of those instinctual behaviors rubbed off on the Macht. We’ve seen this before. In case you’ve forgotten, although I certainly haven’t, Austin Butler spoke with his Elvis accent for a good year and a half following his portrayal of the Rock and Roll legend, saying he was unable to drop it.
As for where Harvey came from, the high-powered New York City lawyer did not start out at Pearson Hardman where we see the show take place. Mike Ross was written to be Harvey’s boy genius and eventual partner in crime. However, despite lying about who he is, Ross was written to hold a moral standard that Harvey had since lost. Oftentimes he was the one to push back on his boss’ questionable choices. I think part of that character is meant to remind Harvey of his early days as a lawyer in the DA's office.
While we never see Harvey fully shake his self-centered behavior, there is a lot of character growth by the series finale, including parts of Harvey where Macht finds himself within the character, as he said:
When you look at different elements of the show, there are so many slivers of myself that align with him and so much of his male toxic masculinity that I don't subscribe to. I think he's selfish and controlling, but underneath it, he's got a heart of gold, which is why we care for him at the end of the day.
And it’s true, we do learn to love Harvey and all his flaws. By the end of the series, he’s been through so much, and as a viewer, you just want him to be able to find peace and happiness. All that being said, I don’t blame Macht for taking a permanent step back, and I wonder what his advice would be for the actors coming in to fill those polished designer shoes.
Regardless, I will be putting my Peacock subscription to good use when NBC finally drops this highly anticipated spin-off series, Suits: LA. The OG cast will always hold a special place in my heart though, including Harvey Specter. No one does it quite like him, and you can relive all the drama of Suits anytime with a Netflix subscription.