Why do Suits fans keep wanting more from Harvey Specter? That’s the “million-dollar query,” in response to Gabriel Macht.
“I feel that there’s a certain element to Harvey, which is [that] he speaks from the hip. He’s very quippy,” Macht, 53, explained to Us Weekly exclusively while promoting his appearance in Bear Fight Whiskey’s first-ever ad campaign. “He’s totally and utterly filled with himself and has an ego — really the dimensions of perhaps a small state within the U.S. — but underneath all of it, he really does have a heart of gold.”
Macht originated the role of Harvey when Suits premiered in 2011. After nine seasons, the actor hung up his expensive suits in 2019 and said goodbye to the role. Nevertheless, the Suits LA spinoff — which premiered last month — offered Macht a probability to reprise his role.
“I feel he really wants the most effective for the common person or for the every man — for whoever he’s looking for,” Macht said of Harvey. “Initially, he’s probably far more corporate or far more self-serving. I feel that what makes him resonate with audiences is that he has [made] mistakes.”
Underneath all of his armor, Harvey just desires to do “what’s right,” Macht added.
“He just does things, sometimes in manipulative ways, to resolve an issue that’s justified,” he continued. “But there are occasions where I’m like, ‘This guy is terrible. What’s he doing?’”
Harvey made his triumphant return to TV on Sunday, March 16. Macht and the “terrific” Stephen Amell, who plays Ted Black in Suits LA, had a Batman-off in a flashback scene. (This was only one episode in Macht’s three-episode arc, and yes, he can be back in present day.)
While chatting with Us, Macht offered more details about his decision to bring back Harvey.
“I used to be really able to put the character to bed and it was the chance of a lifetime for an actor and I’m so blessed by it,” Macht admitted. When Suits creator Aaron Korsh reached out, though, the actor said he was able to “consider” the return.
Suits LA creators found ways to attach the series’ characters — specifically Stephen Amell‘s Ted Black — to the beloved original series. Amell, 43, spoke with Entertainment Weekly on Monday, December 16, about how his character has a special reference to Gabriel Macht‘s Harvey Specter from the primary Suits series, saying, “You’ll notice behind my […]
“After I got here back and I finally landed, it was super surreal. It was wild in some ways,” he explained. “Lots of the identical writers were on the unique Suits. A few the administrators that directed the episodes that I used to be in, I’m very near. There was that comfort with them and an actual kind of a brief dialogue that we have now. The crew was great. They were just so welcoming. Everybody in L.A. was super easy and just into it and didn’t seem to be there was any ego on the set.”
While Macht has his Suits LA appearance, he also starred within the first-ever ad campaign for Bear Fight Whiskey. As a creative director with the brand, the actor had a variety of input on the business — which featured him getting beat up by a person in a bear costume.
“The larger picture [is] the narrative that all of us have our own little bear fights,” he said. “On this one, it’s almost like my bear fight is that I’m working with a man who doesn’t know what he’s doing, and the way are we going to collaborate with me actually getting the crap kicked out of me.”
Macht explained to Us that his partnership with Bear Fight Whiskey showcases the true him.
“There’s kind of an intersection of where Gabriel becomes Harvey and Harvey is Harvey. … I feel that though Harvey’s kind of that top shelf, he’s got to have the most effective, I don’t,” he said. “But you never know, Harvey could turn right into a Bear Fight guy.”
Suits LA airs on NBC Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
