What’s in store for Suits Season 3 premiere? Gabriel Macht interview

Suits Season 3 premiere: Tuesday, July 16 at 10pm ET/PT
USA Network’s top rated drama Suits returns for a third season and it looks like the bromance between Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) is officially over. We caught up with Macht to get his insights on his character, the new season and that infamous can opener.

Harvey Specter looking even better in Suits Season 3When we last left the boys, Jessica (Gina Torres) told Harvey to learn his lesson and play by the god damn rules, so how’s that going for Harvey?
Gabriel Macht:
Oh come on. He doesn’t live by those rules. Complete opposite. He is fired up just to shake things up. Look, he is enraged with Mike having gone behind his back. He feels that he’s been completely betrayed and he’s basically done with Mike. As far as Jessica’s concerned, I think he thinks she’s made a horrible mistake. His instinct is that it’s all wrong, that there’s something wrong with this merger. He’s really upset with Jessica and he lost a certain amount of respect and trust. One could say that he’s got legitimate reasons. I have to — as an actor — not judge and buy that as a character. As an audience member sometimes I look it at as, “Come on, man. There’s other things going on – it’s not all about you.” But he makes some bets that you’re going to see in Episode 1 and these bets are not good news for Jessica. Early on in the season Louis comes to Harvey asking for Mike’s hand — basically he needs an associate and he’s like, “Take him. I don’t need him. I’m done with him. He’s all yours.” So that creates a little drama. But there’s a lot of good stuff going.

What’s it going to take for Harvey and Mike to get back in line?
Well, here’s the thing. Harvey definitely has loyalty issues. A lot of that stems from his mother cheating on his father and seeing all that, so when he brings someone in and someone who is definitely messed up a long the way and is not a full fledge lawyer, he’s like, “Come on man. I’ve given you this opportunity, don’t screw me on this.” And he’s gone out for Mike multiple times. What is it going to take to get them back on? Well, there’s a case that comes up — you’re going to see a head of an organization lose her right-hand man and you’ll see what toll it takes on her and there are some elements that Harvey can relate to and we’ll see if he brings Mike back into the fold. But again, he’s done with him. The courtship has begun for Louis. Louis has gone to the father in law to ask for his new wife and it’s basically Mike. That’s a fun episode. [laughing] It’s really sad how that ends.

Can you share some insights on the flashback episode planned for this season? [Suits Season 3 flashback episode is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 20]
There’s a great flashback episode where we go back 10 years and we see the beginnings of Donna [Sarah Rafferty] and Harvey’s working relationship in the DA’s office and why they left the DA’s office and how they started working together. The can opener is referenced. … It’s great for us. Not to mention it’s fun to play the 10-year younger self. You can make him a little more innocent and wide-eyed. He’s always seen Mike as a younger version of himself so there’s times where you can try and project that. There’s a great scene with Harvey and his father playing baseball, hitting balls. It gives you a little more of a sense of who he is. With a show like this, you only get little glimpses of his history through some of his discussions. With this you actually get to see his history and it informs how he makes his decisions.

Can Donna replace Mike?
Donna’s the best executive assistant around. I don’t think she can gather all the information for a case the way Mike does. I think you are going to see in a few episodes that even Donna’s loyalty is questioned here and there. I think it’s questioned in a different way but it’s also cool that we do a flashback episode where we see the origin of their relationship.

Suits Season 3 premiere date is July 16What would ultimately make Harvey happy or complete?
Oh, that’s hard. He’d have to have everything in the world. I don’t’ know if it’s possible. I don’t know. I think he’s got so many issues. He’s got so much bravado and so much insecurity deep inside him and that’s why he covers so much. I think his integrity and morale background is really strong but I think he’s got a lot of growing up to do. Sure he can speak from the hip and he’s confident and he wins cases, but as much as he says he’s the best closer in New York, I don’t see him winning everything. … I think if he found the woman who could find what’s inside of him and break down some of that armor and not have to puff himself up so much, maybe that’s what he needs. But I think he’s afraid of commitment. I think he’s got a lot of maturing to do.

Are you aware of how many people absolutely love Harvey Specter?
There’s been a great response to this character. He says things that people just don’t say. He goes out on a limb. He takes such risks and I think people just love that. And there’s just a sense that women love him and men want to be him, that’s what I’m getting. Very often I say, “Why? Why do you want to be this guy?” He’s got so many issues. He’s so conflicted about so many things. He’s got so much maturing to do. … In one of the USA previews last year, they have Harvey putting on his jacket in fast motion but they made it seem like he had a cape on. He’s almost like this superhero lawyer. It was a cool effect but it was sort of like how he is. And people think Harvey is like Batman. And everyone wants to be Batman, so I get it.