Yahoo Lifestyle Patrick J. Adams Talks ‘Sleazy’ Accused Role, Suits-ing Back Up for TV Ad — But Keeps Mum on Yellowstone Spinoff
Patrick J. Adams is loving the Suits renaissance and the wealth of new roles it possibly steered his way.
Adams this this week guest-stars on Fox’s Accused crime anthology (Tuesdays at 9/8c), in which a tech entrepreneur (played by Masked Singer host Nick Cannon) finds himself on trial after creating facial recognition software that leads to devastating consequences. Jerrika Hinton (Grey’s Anatomy) also stars.
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In addition to booking and shooting Accused, Adams this year Suits’d back up for a super-silly Super Bowl spot, filmed Netflix’s six-episode Lockerbie series (about the joint Scottish-U.S. investigation into the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103), started a Suits “rewatch” podcast with former co-star Sarah Rafferty, and now is busy with The Madison, the latest offshoot of the well-watched Yellowstone.
Given all of the above….
TVLINE | I’m surprised you have time for me, between your Yellowstone series, Netflix’s Lockerbie, Accused, your podcast, and the T-Mobile commercials.
It has a been a phenomenally busy year. I’m not super used to being this busy, but I’m super grateful. It’s been amazing.
TVLINE | Obviously you have skills, but do you also suspect last year’s Suits renaissance put you back on people’s radar?
I hope so! It’s weird because the renaissance happened while the strike was going on, so we had no barometer for what effect it was having on our current careers, because we weren’t auditioning for anything. I like to hope that I’m good at what I do and that I have a good reputation, but I think it didn’t hurt that we had one of the biggest shows in the history of streaming re-enter the conversation.
TVLINE | So, you’re done filming Lockerbie?
We finished Lockerbie just before the summer. That kind of led right into [Accused], actually. I happened to be in Toronto — we spend our summers up there, and Accused shoots there — so it was a “right place, right time” situation. And then I drove my camper van directly here to Montana, where we’re shooting The Madison.
TVLINE | The Madison has quite a cast….
Yes — and I have no idea what I’m allowed to say about that show, so I’m going to say absolutely nothing except “yes” to what you just said. [Laughs]
TVLINE | An anthology like Accused, is that a fastball down the middle for an actor? To just parachute into a show, do a character for one episode, and move on?
It’s a bit of a throwback to when I first started working professionally, when you grind it out doing guest stars on shows. And I didn’t realize how much i missed it until I got onto the set. You have that experience of brand new people, you’re not going to be in the trenches that long together, so you have to get to know each other and trust each other quickly, get as comfortable as you can, do the work, and then you’re gone. It’s a whole different muscle I wasn’t used to working, but I was happy to put it back into play.
TVLINE | Tell us about the crime at hand in “Marcus’ Story,” and your character’s role in that world.
I play Peter, a friend of Marcus’ (Nick Cannon). I’m a cofounder of this facial recognition software, sort of the brains behind the operation, and Marcus has the business acumen. But the past catches up to us — some potentially notorious things that happened with the software — and that causes a rift between us.
TVLINE | Is this one of the less sympathetic characters you have ever played?
Yes, and that’s kind of what drew me to it. As I said, I was on vacation with my family so I was a little like, “Ahh, I kinda just want to be on vacation” — I’d just shot Lockerbie and had been away for a long time — but then I read this script, and I love the team that makes this show. But most importantly, I usually get offered the “sweet boy you want to bring home to mom”-type roles, but this has an edge. He’s a little sleazy, a bit darker than the characters I’m usually asked to play. I thought, “I have to take a swing at that.”
TVLINE | Accused episodes often can spark a conversation. What questions will this story raise?
Who are your friends? What is friendship? Who do you trust? How far do you let your friends go? And, when do you call your friends out? I’ve certainly had relationships in my life where if I really took a look at it, I’d be like, “Is that serving me? Are we using each other? What’s going on here?” That was the interplay between Nick’s character and mine.
TVLINE | Have you talked to [Suits creator] Aaron Korsh about the Suits: L.A. spinoff, and if there might be a place for Mike Ross to drop in?
I’ve offered my services at all times! I love Aaron Korsh and I love that world; it changed my whole life. We haven’t spoken much because he’s deep into production now, but we’ve sent a few texts back and forth, and obviously I congratulated him when he got the [series] pickup [at NBC]. I know he had an amazing time on the pilot. He said it was like putting on those favorite old clothes again but with brand new people who haven’t been in the trenches yet with you.
TVLINE | Clearly you’re a fan of Toronto, but do you have some L.A. envy? Like, “Man! A Suits that films in Los Angeles? I could’ve had that?”
Oh my God, yeah. When I heard that they got the tax credit, of course we would have killed for that. Granted, I’m from Toronto and I love Toronto and I was happy to [film Suits] there and it was for the best, but the idea of shooting a series in L.A. at this point is so crazy, so not done anymore.
TVLINE | So, you can’t give me any adjectives to describe Russell McIntosh, your character from The Madison?…
I cannot. I swear, there will be lawyers that will descend through these windows and take me out. I’m new to this world and this universe that Taylor [Sheridan] is building, so I’m not going to upset the apple cart just yet.
TVLINE | Have you watched any Yellowstone shows?
Everything. Yeah. I did it chronologically, I started with 1883 and made my way through. Amazing. Look, I’m so grateful to be here and to be doing this. I’m very excited to be able to talk about it one day.
TVLINE | When you did the T-Mobile spots with Suits co-star Gabriel Macht…. Did you break out into giggle fits at points?
Oh my God, yeah. What was wild to me was how quickly we put not just the suits back on, but the characters, too. The director, Brian Klugman, has been a good friend of Gabriel’s forever, so it was just so easy and funny, and we slid right back into the same routine. I was worried when we first decided to do that, like, “Oh man, it’s been a long time. Are we going to be reaching for it? Is it going to be hard?” And it wasn’t. The minute we saw each other, we were ribbing each other and getting into it. We were so lucky on that show, we were lucky to get another opportunity to do it again.
TVLINE | Well, both of you looked like not a day has gone by.
Thank you. I appreciate that. [Joking] He looks a little bit older, a little rougher around the edges…. No, it was instantaneous and fun, and it made me hope that one day maybe we get to do it again. We’ll see.
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