“The show changed my whole life”: Suits star Patrick J. Adams recalls iconic scene in the pilot that changed his life
Patrick J. Adams, known for his role as Mike Ross in the legal drama Suits, reflected on a pivotal moment from the early days of the series in a recent podcast. Suits originally aired on USA Network from 2011 to 2019 and follows the story of a college dropout who, despite lacking a law degree, lands a job at a top law firm due to his photographic memory.
In a podcast clip released ahead of the September 24, 2024, launch of Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast, Patrick J. Adams spoke with former co-star Sarah Rafferty about a key scene in the pilot episode that had shaped his on-screen character and marked a turning point in his own life.
"The show changed my whole life," he said.
Adams said in the clip, published by Entertainment Weekly on September 23, 2024. The actor pointed to Mike Ross's first meeting with Harvey Specter as the exact moment that shifted everything for him. While that scene represented a major plot shift for the character, it also marked the beginning of a new career chapter for Patrick J. Adams. He explained how that on-camera moment coincided with real-life changes that followed the show's success.
Patrick J. Adams reflects on the scene that changed everything
In the clip from Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast, Patrick J. Adams talked about the memorable pilot episode in which Mike Ross first met Harvey Specter. The scene showed Mike, a brilliant college dropout with a photographic memory, stumbling into an interview after a failed drug deal. Despite lacking a law degree, he impressed Harvey enough to be hired by the firm Pearson Hardman.
Adams told Rafferty:
"It was weird to have a moment on camera where you could see your life change, you know, because that was where my life changed."
He added:
"So many things wouldn't have happened were it not for the show. And I can kind of distill it all down to this one scene between Harvey and Mike in this room. It's pretty wild."
The podcast was created to explore each episode of Suits in detail, featuring behind-the-scenes stories and interviews with other cast members. Rafferty and Adams co-host the series through SiriusXM, with early guest appearances including Gina Torres and showrunner Aaron Korsh.
Patrick J. Adams' role in Suits and other projects
In Suits, Patrick J. Adams portrayed Mike Ross, a character who relied on his photographic memory to maneuver through a challenging legal career without having been to law school. His interaction with Gabriel Macht's Harvey Specter became pivotal to the series' charm, aiding in propelling the legal drama across nine seasons from 2011 to 2019.
Besides his role in Suits, Adams has been featured on various other TV shows and movies. He portrayed John Glenn in the 2020 Disney+ series The Right Stuff. His performance credits also feature parts in Orphan Black, Luck, and Rosemary's Baby. His most recent works include Wayward and Accused. Adams has also participated in theatre and directed multiple episodes of Suits. He ultimately departed from the show following its seventh season.
After Suits gained new viewers via streaming services such as Netflix and Peacock in 2023, Adams re-emerged into the limelight. As per a report from Entertainment Weekly released on September 23, 2024, the actor started a podcast with Sarah Rafferty called Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast.
Moreover, NBC revealed a new spinoff, Suits: L.A., on January 23, 2024, which further linked Adams to the franchise that had significantly shaped his career. In an interview with The Independent on November 27, 2024, Adams shared that he had grown weary and faced difficulties with the weight of leading the series.
He mentioned that the experience started to impact his mental well-being. He mentioned that he was "drinking excessively," felt depressed," and no longer found joy in the job, which ultimately prompted his choice to step back from the position.
“I wasn’t taking good care of my mental health and I was drinking too much [at] the end of Season 7,” Adams revealed about his departure.
He continued:
“I was in a zone of living a pretty unexamined life. Pretty miserable [and] I would say, pretty depressed. I didn’t have the tools to deal with that depression beyond just spending money and drinking too much, and not really knowing how to talk about it.”
Adams continued:
“I was still trying to live my life as a 25-year-old and doing my patterns of like how I would numb myself [to] deal with my insecurity and my fears. And they just weren’t working. And they were taking a toll on my relationship, for sure, but also just making me a very not present father.”
Patrick J. Adams's recollection of that early Suits scene highlighted how the pilot marked a significant moment in the storyline and his personal journey. Through the podcast, Adams revisited the beginnings of the show that brought major changes to his professional and personal life.
His reflections also shed light on the challenges he faced behind the scenes, leading to his eventual exit from the series. The podcast became a platform for Patrick J. Adams to not only revisit his past work but also acknowledge the realities that came with it.
