Why do Suits fans keep wanting more from Harvey Specter? That’s the “million-dollar question,” according to Gabriel Macht.
“I think 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 full of himself and has an ego — really the size of maybe a small state in the U.S. — but underneath it all, 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. However, the Suits LA spinoff — which premiered last month — offered Macht a chance to reprise his role.
“I think he really wants the best for the common person or for the every man — for whoever he’s looking out for,” Macht said of Harvey. “Initially, he’s probably way more corporate or way more self-serving. I think that what makes him resonate with audiences is that he has [made] mistakes.”
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Underneath all of his armor, Harvey just wants to do “what’s right,” Macht added.
“He just does things, sometimes in manipulative ways, to solve a problem that is justified,” he continued. “But there are times where I’m like, ‘This guy is terrible. What is 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 just one episode in Macht’s three-episode arc, and yes, he will be back in present day.)
While chatting with Us, Macht offered more details about his decision to bring back Harvey.
“I was really ready to put the character to bed and it was the opportunity 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 ready to “consider” the return.
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“When I came back and I finally landed, it was super surreal. It was wild in many ways,” he explained. “A lot of the same writers were on the original Suits. A couple of the directors that directed the episodes that I was in, I’m very close to. There was that comfort with them and a real sort of a short dialogue that we have. The crew was great. They were just so welcoming. Everybody in L.A. was super easy and just into it and didn’t seem like there was any ego on the set.”
While Macht has his Suits LA appearance, he also starred in the first-ever ad campaign for Bear Fight Whiskey. As a creative director with the brand, the actor had a lot of input on the commercial — which featured him getting beat up by a man in a bear costume.
“The bigger picture [is] the narrative that we all have our own little bear fights,” he said. “In this one, it’s almost like my bear fight is that I’m working with a guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing, and how 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 real him.
“There is sort of an intersection of where Gabriel becomes Harvey and Harvey is Harvey. … I think that even though Harvey’s sort of that top shelf, he’s got to have the best, I don’t,” he said. “But you never know, Harvey could turn into a Bear Fight guy.”
Suits LA airs on NBC Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
