In the last few years, USA Network’s “Suits” has broken all-time streaming records, finding a whole new audience thanks to Netflix and other streaming services. But the hit legal drama almost made a fatal misstep before Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) or Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) ever stepped into court.
“Suits” hinges on the brotherly dynamic between Harvey and Mike, as the former takes the young legal prodigy under his wing when he realizes his potential thanks to his photographic memory. From there, their friendship is forged by morally tricky cases and their common love of classic movies. But according to showrunner Aaron Korsh, USA originally wanted Harvey to be “a 50-year-old guy,” which would’ve completely changed the feel of the show.
“For me personally, it’s [based on] me and my brother, so I really fought against that,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “If Harvey is 50 and still trying to sleep with women every night, that’s sad to me, as opposed to a guy in his mid-upper-30s who hasn’t matured yet. That’s a different story.” Once Korsh had convinced USA Network to keep Harvey in his mid-30s, he had the difficulty of casting him.
USA Network initially didn’t want Gabriel Macht to play Harvey
It’s hard to imagine Harvey Specter as anyone other than Gabriel Macht, but the actor almost didn’t get the role in “Suits.” Aaron Korsh and casting director Bonnie Zane tried to offer the part to a couple of other actors who didn’t work out before they finally met with Macht. However, the network was unconvinced by Macht’s audition, and Korsh had to take a risk on the star to get “Suits” off the ground.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t even sure Gabriel was the right guy for the part at that time,” Korsh recalled, “but what I knew was, if we don’t hire Gabriel, this show isn’t going to work because they’re going to make me hire a 50-year-old man. I wrote this big email saying, ‘I’m not going to tell you that Gabriel’s audition was great, but what I will tell you is this man has the charisma of Bradley Cooper. I know it. And I watched ABC pass on Bradley Cooper. If you pass on him, you are passing on Bradley Cooper.'”
Korsh also said that Macht’s initial audition to play Harvey wasn’t great but blamed himself for being “too inexperienced” to push the actor into delivering a better performance in the room. Ultimately, the situation worked out better than Korsh or USA Network could have predicted, as “Suits” has had a staying power that even the best legal dramas fail to reach.
However, the same can’t be said for Stephen Amell’s spin-off series, because NBC canceled “Suits L.A.” after one season.
