What exactly was it that turned the original Suits into such a phenom?
That first episode really hooks me — that job interview scene between Mike and Harvey was so compelling and cool. I just liked the dynamics between the characters. I liked the story. The dialogue was great. It was witty, it was fast-paced and it just clipped along. And it felt like it was a fun show to do — you just got that sense; I don’t know if other people notice that stuff, but as an actor you can tell when actors are having fun on a show and when they’re not. You’re like, “Oh, they’re miserable!” But you didn’t get that sense with Suits.
On Suits LA, the fractured relationship between Stuart and Ted, the breakup of their firm, is at the heart of the drama. What’s at the root of their dysfunction?
Just years and years of toxic behaviour between the two of them. I mean, they were best friends. And I’ve had, in my own life, friends that I’ve had to set boundaries with. I’ve had to say, “This isn’t working. I can’t let you continue to walk all over me.” That is a hard thing to do. Because just saying, “Well, you do this to me!” opens up to, “Well, you do this to me!” . . . I’m not saying I’m 100 per cent innocent in any bad thing that ever happens in a relationship. It’s a two-way street. The thing with Ted and Stuart is they both felt they’ve wronged each other — but it took [their firm’s collapse] for them to realize that was taking place.
Where they came from, though, was the fact that they were best friends. They worked well together — because they’re both very smart, very prolific legal minds. And they felt like, “Wouldn’t this be a great thing to get together?” Well, it’s not always the best thing to go into business with family, so to speak. Would they have had a falling out if they didn’t work together? No, I don’t think so. Things start getting messy and the lines start getting blurred when you work together.
Even when you’re playing a more “dramatic” role, does your comedy background inform your acting choices?
Whether the job is comedic or dramatic, I think I always start with the dramatic need of the person — and then I can’t help but round someone out with some comedic edges, because that just feels more real to me than anything. When I first started in Hollywood, I was only doing comedy. I really like doing drama, but finding those comedic beats with someone — not trying to force it — but it really helps flesh out a character for me to do some weird, improvisational thing.
Looking at the cases you all tackle on this show, what makes them stand out in the legal genre? The city itself and its wacky celebrity residents are, of course, a big part of the equation . . .
Yeah, each case is going to be unique and different — and obviously tied into Los Angeles . . . Even the bit with Stuart and Enrico Colantoni [playing himself], where he carved the phallic symbol into his neighbour’s hedge — that’s a little ridiculous, but you kind of go, “Yeah, that’s L.A.!” That stuff is happening all the time. Is that happening in Atlanta? Maybe. But in L.A., I guarantee, every night, three or four people have their hedges trimmed into the shape of genitalia [laughs]. I read the local news every morning and . . . you know when you go to a news website and they have the “bizarre” stories? Those are all the stories in L.A.
The season finale of Suits LA airs Sunday, May 18 on CTV & NBC
MEMORABLE ROLES:
Starting out in improv comedy at the storied Groundlings theatre, Josh McDermitt first struck it big onscreen during the golden age of AMC, recurring on Mad Men as Sterling Cooper client George Payton, and landing his signature role as fraudulent scientist turned genuine hero Eugene Porter on The Walking Dead — surviving from season four through to the series finale.
CURRENT GIG:
These days, the native of Phoenix, Arizona, plays high-powered attorney Stuart Lane on this West Coast reboot of Suits. Shrewd and ambitious, Stuart spends his days clashing with unhinged celebrity clients, duplicitous employees, and his bitter ex-partner, ex-best friend Ted Black (Stephen Amell).