Best Celebrity Guest Stars On ‘Suits’
Published on June 29, 2017. Updated June 16, 2020Since it’s debut on June 23, 2011, Suits has become one of TV’s most popular series with a great cast, intriguing storylines and some amazing humor. As with many popular series, they attract many celebrities and many even ask to be on the show because it is one of their favorites which has led to a lot of great celebrity guest stars on the show. From only brief appearances to recurring characters, here are the 10 best celebrity guest stars who have appeared on Suits so far:
10. Eric Roberts
Television and film fans are used to Eric Roberts’ intriguing and often villainous roles through his lengthy career, and he had no problem bringing that persona to Suits. In season four, Roberts was introduced as shady billionaire businessman Charles Forstman and he ended up appearing in eight episodes before his last episode in season five’s “Uninvited Guests” episode. As always, Eric Roberts brought something great to the antagonist role in Suits and was a formidable opponent for both Harvey and Mike, making him not only one of the best celebrity guest stars, but also one of the show’s best recurring characters.
Soure: USA Network9. Amy Acker
Harvey Spectre and Louis Litt’s relationship dynamics is without a doubt one of the most entertaining components of Suits, so fans knew things were going to be good when Louis began talking about his sister, Esther. Of course, instead of being a female version of Louis, Esther was portrayed by the gorgeous Amy Acker. Many fans remembered her from series such as Angel, Alias and Person of Interest and it was fun to see her appear for a couple of episodes in season five with just enough time to stir up some serious issues between Harvey and Louis and be on her way.
Source: USA Network8. Michelle Fairley
Michelle Fairley may have only been in eight episodes of Suits, but she definitely made her mark. The talented actress appeared in season three as Ava Hessington, the CEO of Hessington Oil, one of Pearson-Hardman’s biggest clients. The role was different and refreshing for fans of Fairley, who at the time was best known for her role as Catelyn Stark in Game of Thrones. Of course, her appearance on Suits was highly anticipated after her huge GOT role, and all the ad campaigns leading up the season featured taglines like “Game of Suits” and “I understand the way this game is played.”
Ian Watson / © USA Network / Courtesy: Everett Collection7. Neal McDonough
Much like Eric Roberts, Neal McDonough is known for being the “bad guy” in films such as in Walking Tall and even on TV so he was the perfect fit for a villain in season four of Suits. McDonough starred in 15 episodes as SEC investigator Sean Cahill who was out to destroy Pearson Specter any way he could. Previously known for his roles in Band of Brothers, Timeline, Walking Tall, Minority Report and Flags of Our Fathers, McDonough was a great veteran actor to bring into the series and kept all of season four interesting.
Ian Watson/©USA Network/courtesy Everett Collection6. Stephen Macht
Over its nearly seven seasons, Suits has become a family affair, and one of the best celebrity guest appearances was Gabriel Macht’s father himself, Stephen Macht! The talented actor first appeared as Harvard Law professor Henry Gerard in season three’s “Yesterday’s Gone” and has reprised the role four more times over the years. For fans it was fun to see the Macht father-son duo play Henry Gerard and Harvey Specter because of the contentious relationship between the two, which is obviously far from the truth in real life. Stephen Macht spoke out about working with his son and how things had changed with Gabriel leading a hit TV show. “As a former drama professor who once coached 15-year-old Gabriel in the role of Cyrano de Bergerac, I now experience the reality of a role reversal. Gabriel coaches me as Professor Gerard; the student has become the teacher. That is reflective of our on-screen and off-screen journeys. Because we are real-life father and son, we share an edgy, raw emotional honesty that drives our scenes. And that’s just plain fun!”
Source: USA Network5. Victor Garber
Amy Acker hasn’t been the only beloved Alias star to make a guest appearance on Suits. While many fans won’t even remember his appearance, the talented Victor Garber also made a brief appearance on the series in the very first episode. Diehard Suits fans have recently started questioning Garber’s appearance in the pilot as Philip Hardman due to the fact he was poised as Jessica’s mentor and was happy to leave the firm in her hands, but he was never seen again. For unknown reasons, Garber’s character was actually switched to Daniel Hardman, who as fans know, becomes one of the firm’s biggest adversaries as played by David Costabile. No matter how small the role, audiences always pay attention when Victor Garber is on-screen and many wish he had a larger guest starring role on the series.
Vivian Zink / © ABC / Courtesy: Everett Collection4. Jacinda Barrett
Before Gabriel Macht’s father made an appearance on the show, the star surprised fans by having his real-life wife, actress Jacinda Barrett, guest star in three episodes of Suits. Barrett, who is best known for her roles in Poseidon, The Last Kiss, School for Scoundrels and now Bloodline, came into Suits as Zoe Lawford, a former lawyer who once worked at Pearson Hardman and, of course, had a “past history” with Harvey like so many other women, but unlike most of those women, Harvey had a real connection with Zoe and was shattered by their breakup. While some shows prefer to keep stars from bringing in their significant others for roles, it definitely worked and made their chemistry and relationship all that more realistic when Barrett appeared on the series.
Source: USA Network3. Charles Barkley
It is no doubt to anyone that Charles Barkley was born to be an entertainer, so fans were excited to learn the former NBA superstar would be joining Suits for one episode. The former basketball player has always expressed an interest in acting, so when Suits became one of his favorite shows he jumped at the chance to make a guest appearance as himself in the season five episode “No Refills.” “It’s really cool for me, because when they heard me bragging about the show they invited me and I was like, ‘I gotta make it work.’ Right now with playoffs we’re in our busy time and the only day we have off is Friday. I was like, ‘I don’t give a shit. My day off, we’re going up there to Toronto,'” Barkley said of his brief appearance on the show. Meanwhile, Suits creator Aaron Korsh also opened up about how even though he receives a lot of requests for cameos, he had to work Barkley in because he is such a big fan, but there was a concern about the athlete struggling with the lines. “He’s on TV every night, and he’s such a big personality. I was like, ‘Look, he can make these lines his own. We’re just going to believe he is who he is,’ ” Korsh said. “I just had confidence in his ability and he killed it.”
Source: USA Network2. Troian Bellisario
In real-life Troian Bellisario and Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross) have one of the most adorable celebrity relationships, and after the positive response of having Gabriel Macht’s famous father and wife make guest appearances, they couldn’t pass up the chance to have Bellisario on the show as well. Known best for her starring role in Pretty Little Liars, Bellisario appeared in season four’s “A Fork in the Road” and season five’s “Mea Culpa” as a former love interest of Mike’s that could expose his entire lawyer lie. Of working with her then-fiance and now husband, the actress said, “It’s a blast. It’s just always so much fun to get to play around with your partner, because you have so much in life to draw on, and you have so much trust. When he tells me that something isn’t working in a scene, I trust him to the end of the earth.”
Source: USA Network1. Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps is well known as a record-setting Olympian in the pool, but he put his acting skills to the test when he appeared on Suits in season three’s “Buried Secrets.” The decorated swimmer opened up to SportsCenter about Suits being one of his favorite shows and found himself an offer to appear not long after. In the episode, Phelps appeared as himself as the one sports client that the great Harvey Specter could never land. It is always fun for audiences to see athletes step out of their comfort zone and take on a new challenge such as acting, and his easy-going personality was a great fit for the episode.
Source: USA Network