Exclusive Interview with Suits’ Patrick J. Adams

Now that the Suits finale has aired we can all digest a few things. First, Mike (Patrick J. Adams) took the two-year prison term deal with Gibbs (Leslie Hope) to protect Harvey (Gabriel Macht). Donna, Harvey’s secretary (Sarah Rafferty) was unable to fix it, and Mike decided not to show up to his own wedding to Rachel (Meghan Markle).

The day before the final episode, TNWU exclusively spoke to Patrick J. Adams about his feelings on the season, Mike’s growth as a character, and the surprising twists in the finale that he thinks most fans will enjoy.

This season has been insane. The last two episodes that have aired have been mind-blowing. Every minute I didn’t really know what to expect. What is it like to be the character that in the beginning came in to fix all of the problems and ended up being the major problem?

(laughs). Well, I think he has always been the cause of the problems and I think people have given him the benefit of the doubt because he started all of this with good intentions. He wanted to help his grandmother and then as it went he really wanted to help people but the mess continued to get worse and worse. I think now we are at the point where he has finally been caught and all of these people are rallying to try to keep him out of trouble. It’s interesting to have your heroes try to fight this case when in reality they are on the wrong side. I think that is really cool. They are fighting the trial of their lives and the villain who we perceive as Anita Gibbs is totally in the right. Everything she is saying is true and everything we are saying are lies. I think what’s happening is you are seeing this desperation with this character to try and get out of it and in the end he has to make a really difficult decision.

It’s great to see the growth of your character, but is it hard to play a more power ball role against Harvey and make decisions that he might not agree with versus working with him?

We have had a couple of moments in the show where I went to the investment firm or we were on difference sides of a case. But it never quite felt the same as this because the stakes weren’t as high. It’s more of an emotional stake. We all want the same thing. We aren’t really going toe to toe because we all want Mike to get out of this thing. But what happens is that we all have different ideas on how to get Mike out of it and what we should do to get him out of it. So, to me, it’s fun to play these scenes because they are all based out of love. We all love each other. We all want something good to happen and we are just arguing about the way of making the best thing happen. That’s what happens when people get cornered and when people get scared.

When they don’t really have a good out people start to panic and relationships come apart at the seams. But it’s all for one common goal and that is what the finale is all about. It’s seeing the culmination of the friction between these two people exploding and finding that underneath it, it’s just this total admiration and deep friendships and this want for what is best for each other.

To me, that is what makes this so heartbreaking because it’s not just about people going against each other and who is going to win this round? We are all desperately trying to not lose this round. That is what made working with Gabriel this season so fun because it’s not us fighting to fight or for our egos. We really are fighting for something that means a lot to everyone. Mike caused all of this so he is trying to own it, yet run away at the same time, but at some point, he can’t keep running.

The emotional aspect has never been higher. How has that been as an actor coming in every day and going to such levels of emotion?

It has been a few months since I have done it now, but it was tough. It was tough, but it was also so cathartic. In a way sometimes it’s harder when you are not playing the emotional stuff because you have to compartmentalize it. 

For me, it was so exciting to finally go to work and to be tackling this problem head on. It was exhausting. The last six episodes of this season were really tiring. The schedule of shooting is also so crazy that by the time you get to the end of the season you are naturally tired. (laughs). But Mike is kind of driving this thing so every time we shot something I was like, “I better get this right because we have been waiting so long for this.” 

In the finale, Mike makes a decision that ultimately will change the entire course of next season.

Yes, Mike has given himself up. He has had this moment of clarity and he has realized that even if they were to get off of this thing, they really are never going to get off. I think it’s a realization that he came to. They are always going to come after us, they are always going to come after Harvey. They are always going to come after Jessica. Mike has a moment where he feels the best option is to go to jail in order to protect everyone and just make everything stop. He feels going to jail will stop them from going after all of his friends. Who are now his family.

The more heartbreaking part is how it affects his relationship with Rachel. He has obviously made that decision outside of her. He makes the decision very impulsively because he is on a timeline and doesn’t really discuss it with her. It’s going to have pretty profound effects on her and the way we tackle that in the finale is so hard. As a cast and crew, I am really proud of how we were able to tackle that. But, it is heartbreaking.

What do you think fans reactions are going to be after it airs?

Man, that’s tough. I think there is going to be a lot of shock. I think anytime a show changes itself dramatically and it leaves itself in a way where you know that when you come back to it, it won’t be the same show you watched before– I think there is a lot of shock and a lot of emotion.

The reactions on Twitter are great! People are really emotionally invested at this point with these characters. They are really dialed in to what is going on and it’s just amazing to see how they are going to react to the decisions. But I think them being so attached means we are doing our jobs well.

I think there will be a lot of emotions, a lot of people will be surprised, and probably a lot of people will get angry. I get a lot of Twitter rage from people (laughs). I think a lot of people are on the side that Mike needs to pay the price for what he has done. So hopefully, those people will be happier with this ending. I think the show is taking a big bold step forward and I think that is what you have to do after five seasons. I hope fans react in a positive way and are excited to see what happens next.

So, of course, because we are TNWU, what are you nerdy about?

What am I nerding out on? This is good. I know there is something in there. I am cooking my own bread right now. I am learning how to cook it. I am trying to think of a television show that I am nerding out on right now… Oh, that OJ Simpson show (The People vs. OJ Simpson). I can’t get enough of that. I just want David Schwimmer to keep saying “Juice” as much as possible (laughs). It’s all I want. Someone has already made a mash-up of every time he says that and it’s just genius. He says “Juice” non-stop. Oh man, it’s so good. I just want him to keep saying it.

Also, my lifetime nerd out is Star Trek. I am a fully time treky. So the news that Brian Fuller is going to be taking over as showrunner and co-producer of a new show is super exciting. I can’t wait.