Patrick J. Adams is probably best known for his role as Mike Ross on USA’s Suits.

If you’re caught up on the show, you know that after Season 5, things have taken a very different turn for Mike and for the rest of Pearson Specter Litt. I sat down with Adams at the ATX Television Festival earlier this summer to talk about his reaction to the surprising twist as well as what we can expect from Suits Season 6. (Spoilers below.)

Adams’ reaction when he learned that Mike would actually be going to prison at the end of Season 5 was positive. “I was really happy. I knew from the beginning of last year that I was going to prison, and I was a huge supporter of it. I’ve been pushing for it. Not even necessarily going to prison, but that we deal with the problem, and we get it out of the way,” Adams said.

“It’s been the elephant in the room for years, and I think it’s good for the show to deal with it head on and finally see us have to deal with the consequences of our actions,” he continued.

“I think it brought out a lot of good stuff for the characters along the way. There was a lot of good conflict last year. I just thought last year was such a fascinating season because it was, you know, everybody rooting for us to get away with something that we did. And then [there’s] this Gibbs character, who’s the villain, but she’s absolutely in the right in every possible way. We’ve completely committed a crime. And so it was great to see our hero realize that he’s the bad guy, and that at some point, you have to deal with the consequences of that.”

“Now moving forward, it is a very different show,” Adams said, adding that everyone is hoping the audience will enjoy the changes, but also “trust that we want to get the team back together again, too. But we want to take our time doing it.”

Adams also spoke to the way actually going to prison is going to affect Mike’s character in the long run.

“It forces him to grow up. For me, Mike is the character that is by far changed the most over the course of these six seasons. I think he’s evolving constantly, and this is just like another big step. He can’t afford to be naïve,” Adams explained.

“You have to be strong. You have to be willing to fight. You have to be willing to stand up for yourself,” he continued. “So for me, the show’s trajectory is always about watching Mike grow up, and you know, figure out what it means to be a man. And ending last season the way we did was a big step for him.”

“In a way, he’s free going to prison,” Adams noted. “He’s finally free from this secret, and he can begin to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. But for now, he has to deal with the very real problem of being in prison where his life is threatened, and he’s away from the people he loves the most.”

As for the way the rest of the characters are affected, Adams said it’s Harvey who, unsurprisingly, is having the hardest time with it.

“Harvey and Rachel might get a little closer because they’re bonding over how much they miss Mike. And for Jessica, she’s got bigger fish to fry,” Adams noted. “Louis has got his own sort of funny trajectory, and he’s not really spending a lot of time thinking or worrying about Mike. I think it weighs most heavily on Harvey. He’s the guy who feels responsible for this, and so as a result, Donna has to be a little bit involved in that.”

“Everybody’s kind of getting on with their lives. They have to. There’s a real threat to Pearson Specter Litt. All of the clients are leaving quickly.”

For Adams, one of the biggest challenges in playing Mike is to not judge the character. “He can be really naive at times. And for me, it’s always challenging to not judge that, and not sort of ask ‘why is he such a smart guy [but] making such silly decisions?’ Because he has to, sometimes, in order for the show and the plot to do what it’s supposed to do.”

Adams also talked about what it’s like to play the same character for several seasons, and the challenge of keeping things interesting.

“Just being with one character so long is not a natural process for an actor. You know, we’re not used to that. That’s not normal. You do plays for maybe a year, or you do a film for four months. You don’t typically play one role for so long. I think just holding on to the through line and making it interesting for yourself and continuing to invest and dig deeper — that’s hard,” Adams admitted.

In addition to being in front of the camera, Adams has also directed two episodes of Suits (Season 4 episode 14,”Derailed” and Season 5 Episode 14, “Self Defense”) and that’s something he plans to continue.

“I’m doing another one this year. I’ll do one as long as the show goes for sure. I love directing. I first directed my first real film this year, and I’ve always directed a lot of theater, so directing is a huge part of me. To be honest, I think it’s an even more natural fit for me than being an actor is. As an actor, I’m notorious for asking a lot of questions,” he said.

“I want to ask as many questions as I can to get the most thorough idea of what we’re supposed to do. And as an actor, sometimes that’s discouraged. But as a director, that’s a strength.”

“I’m glad that I get to do both,” Adams continued. “Plus, [with directing] I get to be bossy and tell people what to do,” he laughed.

Adams also has the opportunity to play a very different kind of character, with a new role on The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow. We only got a glimpse of him at the end of Season 1, but we’ll see more of him next season.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been on someone else’s show,” Adams said. “It’s kind of fun to be the new guy — fun to get that feeling of like, ‘oh okay, I don’t know any of you,’ and trying to figure out where you fit. Where now on Suits, it feels more like my family than my family does.”

“[Legends of Tomorrow] is a great show, and the people there are all terrific. They’re just finishing their first season. It’s such a different place,” he continued. “It’s a totally different kind of work — putting on a superhero outfit pretending you’re traveling through time. I mean, I’ve never gotten to do that kind of stuff, and obviously I grew up on all those movies.”

“I only got to do one scene, so I’m excited to go back and do some more.”

Adams also chatted a bit about the ATX Television Festival. After being there last year for a Suits panel and a script reading for Dawson’s Creek, he returned again this year to participate in two script readings: one for the never-picked-up pilot, BIG, and the other for The O.C.

“I came down here [last year] and immediately had the best time of my life. It’s work, but it’s fun. Everybody’s relaxed. Everybody’s supportive and excited about the show and about other shows,” he said. He also added how much he loves seeing people he knows from other shows that he otherwise wouldn’t cross paths with.

“It’s just sort of an electric excitement, and they’re so supportive of television. I feel so blessed to be in a position where I can participate, you know, and not only be working, but be working on the show, and [talk to] people like yourself, who are interested in talking about it. It’s a big deal to be able to do that in a place that’s really fun and exciting.”

Adams also shared some of his favorite television shows, which included Veep, Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, and The Affair. But the show he’s currently most excited about? “Peaky Blinders is maybe favorite thing on TV,” he said.

Because of Adams’ role on Suits, there was one more thing I had to know: if he was in trouble with the law, and could choose any TV lawyer (other than someone at Pearson Specter Litt) who would it be?

“I’d want a woman attorney for sure. It would be Ally McBeal or [Alicia Florrick from] The Good Wife,” Adams decided. “Probably her. She’s a badass.”

You can catch Patrick J. Adams when Suits returns for Season 6 this Wednesday, July 13th at 9/8c on USA.

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