Suits’ 20 Best Characters, Ranked
The best Suits characters helped make it an outstanding legal drama show. Suits began airing in 2011 on USA Network, where it continued to enjoy success for nine seasons before wrapping up in 2019. The series begins by focusing on two characters, Harvey Specter and Mike Ross, who both lead very different lives despite having a lot in common besides their jobs. When Mike decides he wants to experience a more luxurious life like those working in prestigious law firms, he cons his way into a job at Pearson Hardman Law.
While Harvey and Mike are pivotal early on in the series, the show also develops a large cast of colorful characters who are equally entertaining and talented. This is also helpful as the series progresses and characters like Mike Ross choose to depart the series. Most shows would struggle to keep going after such a pivotal character's departure, but Suits was well-equipped to keep going, thanks to the spectacular cast.
20 Charles Forstman
Played By Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts joined the cast of Suits in its fourth season. He played Charles Forstman, a hedge fund owner who knew and worked with Harvey Specter's father in the past. He was also involved in several illegal activities throughout his life and was someone that Harvey felt he had to go to for help when Marcus came to ask his brother for help to open a restaurant. Harvey agreed at the time to work for Charles to help his brother, leading to several bad things happening and Harvey leaving, but that was only the start for the character.
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Roberts plays Charles as a very unethical person, which contrasts nicely with Harvey and makes him an easy antagonist in the series. Charles was a thorn in the side of Harvey, Mike, and later Louis, and hurt them in different ways before they could finally turn the tables on the man. When Charles finally gets his ultimate comeuppance, it is a great moment in the series as a very evil man gets what is coming to him.
19 Harold Jakowski (Gunderson)
Played By Max Topplin
Harold Jakowski was an alias used by Harold Gunderson in the Suits cast. He was one of the associates of Louis Litt at Pearson Hardman and really stood out by being Louis's whipping boy on the show, which Louis claimed was for Harold's ineptitude. This was even though Harold had always proved himself skilled as a lawyer, and most of his mistakes were because of Louis's micromanagement. Louis eventually fired Harold, and Mike helped him get a job at the rival Bratton Gould.
Max Topplin played Harold with enough pathos to make him sympathetic, but he also turned things around and made fans turn on him when he tried to ruin Louis after Pearson Darby called him in as a witness against his former boss at a mock trial. Harold is a character who pops up occasionally throughout the series, usually to cause problems for the firm, and he eventually comes back on board in season 9 when Louis puts in a good word for him.
18 Edith Ross
Played By Rebecca Schull
Edith Ross is Mike Ross's paternal grandmother and guardian after his parents died in an auto accident. She appeared in the series for its first two seasons and was not only one of the people closest to Mike but also someone viewers had to mourn when the character passed away. It is Edith who is the reason that Mike ends up working for Pearson Hardman, as he was trying to sell drugs to help afford to put her in private care when he realized it was a sting and accidentally ended up in an interview with Harvey Specter.
Fans got to see Edith return in flashbacks in the third, fourth, and fifth seasons.
Sadly, Mike wasn't able to see her much after he started working for Pearson Hardman, and by the time he decided to use his newfound pay to buy her an apartment, she died. Fans got to see Edith return in flashbacks in the third, fourth, and fifth seasons, which was a good chance to see how important this woman was in Mike's life and why she was the reason he turned into the man he became.
17 Edward Darby
Played By Conleth Hill
Conleth Hill plays Edward Darby, the managing partner of Darby International who used to work at Pearson Darby Specter with Jessica Pearson. This was the firm that formed when Daniel Hardman had almost ruined Pearson Hardman, and Jessica had to accept a deal with Darby to save her firm. While Darby was the controlling partner, he mostly let Jessica run things her way for much of their time together.
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However, things got rough in season 3, thanks to the Hassington Oil murder trial. This character addition was yet another case of Suits giving Jessica her own problems on the show, increasing her importance alongside Harvey and Mike. This case with Ava Hessington was a huge plot point in season 3, and Darby presented someone who showed a grey area of the law. At the same time, he allowed Jessica to take control of her firm once again.
16 Daniel Hardman
Played By David Costabile
Throughout season 1, Suits was mostly about Mike joining the firm without his law degree and hiding that fact from the firm's managing partner, Jessica Pearson. However, the second season added a character that created a lot of tension for Jessica and almost threatened everyone in the firm. This addition was Daniel Hardman, the other name partner. Hardman was pushed out initially when Harvey and Jessica learned he was embezzling from clients.
However, he returns in the season 2 premiere, claiming he is a changed man, but then Hardman proceeds to show that he is as underhanded and immoral as Harvey describes him to be.
However, he returns in the season 2 premiere, claiming he is a changed man, but then Hardman proceeds to show that he is as underhanded and immoral as Harvey describes him to be. David Costabile played Daniel as an arrogant and vindictive person. He was a great villain throughout season 2 and a good way to bind Jessica to Mike, even after she learned the truth about his lies, making him more important than a typical antagonist.
15 Cameron Dennis
Played By Gary Cole
Before he joined NCIS and replaced Mark Harmon as the lead actor in that police procedural series, Gary Cole had an important role in Suits. Cole joined the series as a guest in season 1 before becoming a recurring character in season 3 as Cameron Dennis before returning in seasons 6 and 7. Dennis is a prosecutor and was one of Harvey's mentors when Harvey worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan.
His first appearance shows his complicated relationship with Harvey. While Harvey didn't want to testify against Cameron when the prosecutor was accused of burying evidence, Cameron was willing to sell out Harvey. Jessica saved Harvey, but when Cameron returned in season 3, his character was fleshed out more and became an essential part of the story. Cameron used his role as a prosecutor to help Mike while he was in prison, and he showed his true character, something lacking in earlier appearances.
14 Dr. Paula Agard
Played By Christina Cole
Dr. Paula Agard played an important role in Harvey's development in later seasons. For the first part of Suits' run, Harvey was mostly seen as an arrogant and brilliant attorney. He had all the confidence in the world and let anyone who asked know that he was always the best man for the job. However, he also had some problems he kept locked away and finally started seeing a therapist to work these out, which was Dr. Agard.
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What made her such an important character was that Harvey romantically fell for her, and she fell for him as well. Fans never wanted this relationship because the end goals always seemed to be Harvey and Donna. However, what makes Paula so great is that she forces him to choose between her and Donna, and that actually pushes Harvey to the woman he was always meant to be with by the end.
13 Alex Williams
Played By Dulé Hill
When Gina Torres (Jessica Pearson) left Suits, the show wanted to bring in a big name to help fill the gap so they signed Dulé Hill, an actor with a strong TV following thanks to The West Wing and Psych. Hill joined in season 7 in a recurring role before becoming a main cast member in the last two seasons.
Alex Williams' connection to the series is that he was an old friend of Harvey's. After Harvey almost left the firm to join Alex at Bratton Gould, that firm punished Alex when Harvey changed his mind, causing the attorney to leave them to join up with Harvey.
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Alex was not the best replacement for Jessica as he was mostly there to serve as Harvey's friend, and he never really fit in with the rest of the firm at first. However, by the end of the series, he does come around and becomes part of the "family," even helping to save Donna. One problem with Alex was Hill's seemingly wooden acting, but that was more a part of the character's uncomfortable transition than the actor's skills.
12 Gretchen Bodinski
Played By Aloma Wright
Gretchen Bodinski was a fairly late arrival in the series, joining the team in the second episode of the fifth season. Gretchen was a skilled executive assistant who stepped in to take Donna Paulsen's place after she chose to start working for Louis Litt and leave Harvey's desk. While Donna was a huge presence to fill in for, and incredibly skilled at her work, Gretchen was a highly capable replacement who had just as much of a backbone and a genuine skill for tackling any role Harvey required.
Gretchen Bodinski also appeared in the 2020's Young Dylan as Viola.
Gretchen is slightly older than Donna, but that doesn't impact her ability to coordinate, schedule, and keep pace with the high-powered executives at the firm. When Donna chooses to return to work for Harvey, Gretchen switches to work for Louis, with whom she builds a close friendship and trust. Gretchen also assumes a much more significant role in later seasons after Mike and Rachel leave for Seattle.
11 Sheila Sazs
Played By Rachel Harris
Sheila Sazs is initially introduced as an admissions officer at Harvard University, with whom Louis builds a close relationship. The pair quickly become romantic, and they engage in a rocky rollercoaster romance between season 5 and season 9. Ultimately, the pair fall deeply in love and get married, with a child, Lucy Litt, by the series' end.
One of the best parts of Suits is the representation of powerful women
Sheila is feisty, quick-witted, intelligent, and strong-willed. In her relationship with Louis, she frequently takes the lead over her partner and proves that she can thrive independently, but chooses to build a life and relationship with Louis. One of the best parts of Suits is the representation of powerful women who are not susceptible to being controlled or manipulated by men, and Sheila is no exception. Her influence and authority make her an essential part of the series, and a joy to watch.
