It’s a new season of USA Network’s polished television drama, Suits and as we saw in the season premiere, things between Rachel Zane and Mike Ross aren’t getting any less complicated anytime soon. “Love is never easy,” says Meghan Markle, the L.A.-born beauty who portrays Pearson Hardman’s savviest paralegal. “Mike Ross brings out her vulnerable side. As we saw in season one, her Achilles heel has always been her inability to test well. She had been so jaded in a way by all these hot shots that come to the firm and have this bravado, and she always assumed that Mike was the same sort of guy. I think in watching the development of their relationship, you really get to see that she has a soft spot for him.” Though the show presents itself as a legal drama, the focus is far more grounded in the relationships of the characters than in the cases in their litigation bags. “Part of the appeal is in watching the push and pull and trying to see if the characters can make it work. For me certainly as an actor half the fun is waiting to see how it’ll all play out.” You know a show is bitingly witty when even the actors are dying to know what happens next. “When I get the script and I call my other cast mates, we all have this communal ‘oh my god, did you read that?!’ moment. I’d fan girl over the show even if I wasn’t on it. I just think it’s so much fun and I’m so proud to be a part of it.” So what’s on the horizon for Rachel and the other formidable minds over at Pearson Hardman? “I would love for Rachel to become a lawyer. Not only would she become a great role model if that happened, but I think it would really shift the dynamic at the firm. It’s all up to the writers. What I can promise is that there will be a lot of fun in store.” Catch Suits Thursdays at 10/9c on USA.
Interviewed by Ashley Symone Lee
Photographed by Vince Trupsin