Patrick J. Adams Talks Directing ‘Suits’

Tonight’s Season 6 winter premiere of “Suits” is the third episode series star Patrick J. Adams has directed for the USA legal drama. And according to him, the main challenge he faced while filming the upcoming episode was the same one he encountered during the first two times he took over the director’s chair.

“The challenge of directing is that you just get so used to, over the course of the show, thinking about one thing — which is how to play Mike Ross,” Adams told USA Network when asked what it’s like to direct episodes in which he also stars as his character. “It’s a very focused thing when you’re playing a part. And when you’re directing, you suddenly have to take into account everybody’s point of view and everybody’s storyline and where they are in that storyline.”

While directing an episode means more responsibilities for him, Adams said that he enjoys working behind the camera. “It takes a lot more time and it’s a serious marathon," Adams said, adding, “but because it’s so much fun, the time disappears and it’s like being a kid again.”

Adams added that his fellow cast members Gabriel Macht (Harvey Specter), Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt), Meghan Markle (Rachel Zane) and Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen) also made his directing experience more fun by being open and honest with him during the entire process.

“Gabriel and I get along really well, both when he’s directing and when I’m directing,” Adams told Entertainment Weekly. “I think we have a lot of patience and a lot of respect for how the other person views the material and a lot of trust. So, a lot of those scenes [from tonight’s episode] just came out very naturally by a lot of actors that trust each other, me giving them the space to play, and us sort of discovering it as smoothly and as quickly as possible.”

“Suits” winter premiere (Season 6, episode 11) airs tonight at 10 p.m. EST on USA Network.