‘Suits LA’: Gabriel Macht takes these steps in becoming Harvey Specter
How does Gabriel Macht become the character Harvey Specter? He explains his “Suits LA” reprisal to USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa.
NEW YORK ‒ Gabriel Macht is thrilled with the resurgence of the USA Network legal drama “Suits,” which aired from 2011 to 2019. The actor talks about clips of the show going viral on social media. He marvels at how the series took off when it hit Netflix in 2023. He even mentions that “Suits” was one of the most illegally downloaded TV shows of its time, according to rankings from a website that publishes news on copyright and file sharing.
And yes, the fact that his paralegal on the show was played by an actress then known as Meghan Markle, now Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, might have played a role, too.
“I don’t know the logistics; I don’t know the numbers,” Macht, 53, tells USA TODAY. “But possibly. I mean, she’s quite known around the world these days, right?”
Macht says “never in a million years” did he think he’d be fielding questions about the royal family because of a former colleague. Thankfully, for “Suits” fans, they didn’t have to wait a million years to see him back as Harvey Specter. The actor reprises his role as the fast-talking lawyer on NBC’s spinoff “Suits LA” (Sunday, 9 ET/PT). Macht says returning to the character, which he played in all 134 episodes of the original series, was like figuratively hopping back on a bike.
“There’s a couple different stages; one is putting the suit on,” he explains. “You feel like, ‘Oh, I’m back in it.’ Another is, ‘Let me get in touch with all the stuff that I’m not crazy about myself.’ That’s pretty easy. And then the third is learning the lines. Once you sort of absorb the double negatives and all the rhythms, then you’re good to go.”
New coast, same Harvey Specter on ‘Suits LA’
The original series, set in New York, starred Macht and Patrick J. Adams, who played Mike Ross, a chronic underachiever with a photographic memory who never attended law school. Despite this, Specter is impressed with Ross and brings him on as an associate in his law firm.
The new series shifts the action to Los Angeles. Macht was first seen in the March 16 episode, “Batman Returns.” Through flashbacks, we learn of Specter’s friendship with the lead of the new show, Ted Black (Stephen Amell). Over drinks at a bar, Specter insists that he is Batman to Ted’s Robin.
“I think it’s probably the narcissistic element that Harvey’s got, where he’s gotta be the one and center,” Macht says. “I don’t think Harvey ever sees himself as a sidekick, whether it’s Mike being Robin or Ted being Robin. (Harvey’s) definitely not Robin.”
April 13’s eighth episode, “Acapulco,” continues a three-part story arc for Specter in the present world of “Suits LA.” It’s the second time he’s reprised the role: He also appeared in the short-lived 2019 spinoff “Pearson,” which centered on the law firm’s co-founder Jessica Lourdes Pearson (Gina Torres).
“There was so much banter in the original,” he says of “Suits.” “You get an audience in by making it light and witty. People like that interplay. And then you bring out slowly but surely their personal histories that have some darkness. And you punch them in the gut with that and then you make them feel like, ‘Oh, I gotta care for this person.’ I think ‘Suits LA’ has more of that.”
Where does Macht live? ‘I’m a citizen of the world’
Macht was born in the Bronx and lived in New York’s Westchester county until he was 5 before relocating to Los Angeles. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, the actor bounced between the two coasts. He and his wife, Australian American actress Jacinda Barrett, share two kids. The actor is coy about his home base. And while he won’t rule out a return to Hollywood, he says he’s satisfied with his professional role: co-founder and creative director of Bear Fight Whiskey. Seth MacFarlane is also a founding investor.
“Harvey likes whiskey and I like whiskey,” he notes of his character, while clarifying that Specter’s weapon of choice is Macallan scotch. “I’m able to create some of the storylines and the narratives and what the messaging is. What’s your bear fight? Everyone has one.”
But when it comes to extending his stay in the “Suits” universe, there doesn’t seem to be much conflict in Macht’s mind. “I had a really wonderful time,” he says of his role as a guest actor. “They all welcomed me. It was really sweet. Never say never, but I think they’ve got their legs.”
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