How ‘Suits LA’ Lured Gabriel Macht Back to Playing Harvey Specter

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Gabriel Macht never expected to play Harvey Specter again.

After wrapping up his nine-season run as the debonair, suave super lawyer on the USA drama Suits in 2019, Macht intentionally stepped away from acting in order to refocus his attention on spending more time with his family and raising his two young children. As time went on, he felt he was able to slowly shed the onscreen persona that had dramatically upended his life and shot him to international fame.

But in the summer of 2023, amid the actors’ and writers’ strikes in Hollywood, Netflix acquired the co-streaming rights to Suits in the U.S. (The series had already been available to stream on Peacock.) Suddenly, the glossy, eminently bingeable legal drama — which centered around hotshot corporate attorney Harvey’s decision to hire brilliant college dropout Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) as his new associate, and the inevitable cover-up and fallout from their long con — got a new lease on life. By the end of that year, according to Nielsen, Suits had racked up 57.7 billion total minutes watched and became the most watched title ever acquired by a streaming service.

Like his former co-stars and colleagues, Macht did not quite know what to make of the unprecedented resurgence of Suits, but he had a feeling that creator Aaron Korsh would eventually end up expanding the fictional universe with another set of impossibly witty and snazzy lawyers. Sure enough, while developing the new West Coast-set spinoff, Suits LA, for NBC last year, Korsh asked Macht if he would consider suiting up again for a three-episode arc in the 13-episode first season, which would reveal an existing connection between Harvey and new protagonist Ted Black (Stephen Amell).

“I thought, ‘You know what? I could give something back to the fans because they’re so, so hungry for more of this character. And if I can support the show in my way and bring some eyes to it, that might be a really nice thing to pass the baton,’” Macht tells The Hollywood Reporter in the interview below, about why he returned for a three-episode arc (his next final episodes release April 13 and 20). “They worked out a way to make it make sense for my family, and here we are.”

In 2010, while Ted was prosecuting federal cases for the U.S. Attorney’s office in New York City, Harvey, shortly before leaving to work for the indomitable managing partner Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), was still working for the District Attorney. Suits fans will remember that baseball was Harvey’s sport of choice growing up, and as shown in Harvey’s first Suits LA appearance in episode four, Harvey and Ted would sometimes play in the prosecutors’ league baseball team together.

After a playoff game, Harvey took Ted and his brother Eddie (Carson A. Egan), who has Down syndrome, out for a drink, and Harvey gave Ted some valuable intel about Pellegrini (Anthony Azizi) — the mob boss who had not-so-subtly threatened Eddie at his workplace. With Harvey’s help, Ted was able to put Pellegrini away for another case that he was prosecuting. But after Pellegrini gets out of prison in the present day, Harvey convinces Ted that, in order to settle an old score, they need to team up and go after the mobster again.

Below, Macht opens up about his decision to return (albeit, briefly) to scripted television to support the expansion of the Suits universe, why he thinks the fan-favorite relationship between Harvey and Mike has stood the test of time — and why he believes that hypermasculine antiheroes, including Harvey, are often celebrated for the wrong reasons.

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Suits was a hit during its nine-season run, but the show came back into the cultural zeitgeist in a way no one could have anticipated. What have you made of the resurgence of the series? And once it became clear that this universe would be expanding, what conversations did you have with creator Aaron Korsh about what you both wanted to accomplish with Harvey’s return?

I’m in utter awe of the numbers and amount of downloads, the commitment that fans have regarding the show. The fandom has been complete insanity. [I’m amazed by] someone who wants to spend that kind of time with us on multiple reruns. I’ve met a couple people who have watched the show four times, seven times, 10 times, 15 times all the way through. You multiply that by 134 episodes. This resurgence happened, in many ways, I believe, in connection with TikTok and Instagram. [With] the little bite-sized format and presentation that this new generation had [on those apps], they picked up on the motivations and inspirational Harvey quotes, or the witty banter. I think those were little nuggets that people took and went to Netflix and said, “What is this show? I’ve been seeing these things pop up.” I think that helped create the explosion. It’s very interesting to see how different platforms create this widespread attention.

We were really a hit when we first premiered. The show was very solid on USA and around the world on the different streaming platforms. So to have another round owas amazing and, “Wow, this is intense.” It’s created so many opportunities for me personally, which is a blessing, and when Aaron said, “Look, we had this idea of doing this universe and creating this world where maybe some of the original cast members pop up, would you be interested?” I said, “Well, tell me a little bit more about it, because I feel like we wrapped up these storylines and these characters really gracefully, and I think we did a good job of giving the fans what they wanted.”

Aaron said, “Well, our lead character could have been friends with Harvey back in the day, and there’s some stuff that’s gone on. But if we could make it happen and it worked out for [your] schedule, and [we could] truncate the work, maybe you’d consider it.” I took that as a very real thing. I thought about the space in which Suits LA is presented and I thought, “You know what? I could give something back to the fans because they’re so, so hungry for more of this character. And if I can support the show in my way and bring some eyes to it, that might be a really nice thing to pass the baton.” And that’s how it all came about. It all worked out. They worked out a way to make it make sense for my family, and here we are.

Stephen Amell as Ted Black with Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter in the April 13 episode of Suits LA.

Nicole Weingart/NBC

You had 134 episodes on the original series to explore pretty much every aspect — every nook and cranny — of Harvey’s inner life. Considering that you had already thought so much about Harvey’s evolution, what new layers did you find in revisiting him all these years later?

Wow, that’s a question I could probably take a week and a half to answer. For full transparency, my job as an actor is to cede to the vision of the showrunner and expand on the showrunner’s idea of who this character is, and collaborate with the directors and the other actors and somehow be somewhat spontaneous and make some choices, but not land on too many, and try and create the magic as we go along. That’s how I approached the character.

It turned out that I was nothing like the character when we started, and by the end I was too much like him in [terms of] behavioral actions. There were some beats of Harvey that I think developed in ways that were not healthy for me as Gabriel, but that’s the character. I wanted to honor the character and honor his insecurities and the way he does things. In the flash-forward, in the present time, I think Harvey is way more in a space of his wise self and less of his young child who needs to make a statement and get his way. I have found that I personally am in a better space in my life emotionally — and I think Harvey is too.

In one of your recent social media posts, we can see that Harvey is still in Seattle and presumably working with Mike for the everyman, rather than for corporations or the one percent. Harvey still has his wedding band on in the behind-the-scenes photos that have been released, so he is still married to Donna (Sarah Rafferty). How much are we going to hear about what Harvey’s life looks like now in episodes eight and nine? Are we going to hear about what he has been up to with Mike or Donna?

I think you’re going to see there are a few beats that represent what’s going on in his present life, and I think that the audience will be pleasantly warm. They’ll have a warm feeling. (Laughs) I think they’ll enjoy it. I think it gives the fans what they want, and I think there’s some special moments there.

A lot of the success of Suits had to do with the close relationship between Harvey and Mike; it was a depiction of male friendship we hadn’t really seen on TV before. What do you think were the keys to building the onscreen and offscreen rapport that you had with Patrick, particularly in the earlier seasons, and why do you think that dynamic has stood the test of time?

I think people are interested in relationships where there’s a mentor and a mentee. I think that when the mentor is teaching some real truth and inspiring and creating strength in someone younger, it’s really inspiring [the audience]. But I also think that when the youth is able to teach the elder, there’s something there as well. Mike taught a lot to Harvey that Harvey wasn’t able to work out on his own. I think that’s the dynamic — they’re both making mistakes along the way. Humans make mistakes all the time. I think the characters are accountable for what they have done wrong and they try to make things right.

At the end of the day, what’s most resonant is both of them really have a heart of gold, and they may do things in an alternative or maybe even manipulative way, and that’s the dramatic purpose [of the show]. But at its heart, these are guys that want to do right, and that’s what people respond to. They also like to see people take the piss at each other and bring them down in a playful way — not to really put them in their spot and make them feel less than or dismiss them. But they were able to one up each other throughout. I think people like that chemistry, and Patrick and I had that on set and in real life as well.

Harvey Specter has become a cultural icon, joining other powerful male antiheroes like Tony Soprano, Walter White and Don Draper. Jon Hamm told THR last year that those kinds of male characters are often celebrated for the wrong reasons; a certain demographic seems to think of them as “a paragon of masculinity.” How did you approach the depiction of masculinity with Harvey on Suits? And what are your thoughts on the way that the character, for better or for worse, has been used and propped up as a bastion of masculinity in pop culture?

That’s a great question. Jon Hamm totally stole that from me. I said that first — just not as articulately and just not with the vocabulary that he used. I’m just playing. (Laughs) He’s absolutely right. I think that these are television characters who have made a real dent in society, and I am not in any way, shape or form supportive of the male toxicity that Harvey just exudes. I’m definitely not honoring his narcissistic need [to be told] how great he is. I think he is full of insecurities, full of vulnerabilities, full of abandonment issues, full of this patriarchal selfish greed that he needs to stay on top and control as much as he can before it’s taken away. I think all of that is — what’s it called? — misogynistic crap.

I think some of our young adolescent men lean into that and think that’s the way to be cool and make an influence in society. What people really respond to about Harvey is his vulnerability; his caring for the other. Once he realizes he’s being a dick, and I think when he is self-reflective and in touch with himself and his emotions, he really looks at every man and says, “Let’s be equal. Let’s figure out what we’re doing wrong, and let’s make a change in an integral way with integrity and kindness.” And that’s underneath what he’s doing; those are his actions at the end of the day. But I think Jon Hamm is absolutely right. These characters are manipulative and often really offensive and not great in any way for our society — and I hate to say it, but we as an audience have our blinders on when we’re not looking deeper at what’s underneath all of this stuff. I think too much is being run in the wrong way.

Macht as Harvey Specter in Suits LA.

Nicole Weingart/NBC

You admittedly had little interest in coming back to work as an actor right now. You’ve now ventured into business as a whiskey investor and creative spokesperson, but you came back to Suits as a tribute to the fans. How open is the door to revisit Harvey again down the line? Would you consider reprising this role in any iteration in the future — whether it be in a potential future season of Suits LA or a potential movie reunion — or do you feel like this short arc was the best way for you to let Harvey go?

I think it was the right way to come back, and it’s the right way to leave it right now. I think I was here, really, to pass the baton to Suits LA, but they’re up and running and these guys are solid. They’ve got some good writing; there’s some good stories. There’s definitely fans who are going to stay with the show. I don’t think they need me back. But never say never! If the opportunity comes where it makes sense — again, I’ve got a lot of different interests and a lot of ventures going on.

I’m really excited and passionate about my whiskey, Bear Fight Whiskey, and creating little short narratives like, “What is your ’bear fight’? Everyone’s got a bear fight, so what is yours?” [The idea of that campaign is] everyone’s got either a big trauma or a little trauma or a challenge or a thing that’s just a daily itch, like, “God, I really haven’t picked up my guitar this week. I just gotta do it, but it’s not on the calendar and I forget to do it. So next week I’m going to put it on my board, and I’m going to practice the guitar.” And at the very end of the day they say, “You know what? I practiced guitar today. I lent in and I engaged, and I’m going to celebrate that moment by having a glass of Bear Fight.” I would love to see that conversation. I’m really passionate about that, and that’s where my interest lies right now.

Look, if [Aaron] comes back to me and says, “Hey, would you like to do another arc?” — I’m open to it, but I’m really interested in doing this short-form narrative right now. I want to spend my time with my family.

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Suits LA airs Sundays at 9/8c on NBC, and episodes stream the next day on Peacock. All episodes of Suits are now streaming on NBC and Peacock. Read THR’s summary of what to remember from Suits while watching Suits LA.