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'Suits': Sarah Rafferty Previews Harvey's Sexy Dream, Recounts Filming His 'Thank You'
Mandi Bierly - Deputy Editor, Yahoo TV
July 22, 2015
Breathe, Suits fans, breathe. Yes, the exclusive photo above is of Donna (Sarah Rafferty) lounging in Harvey Specter’s bed, but this isn’t The Other Time, Take Two. It’s from a dream sequence that begins Wednesday’s episode, “Toe to Toe,” which centers around Harvey (Gabriel Macht) and his therapist (Christina Cole) analyzing the events that led up to it.
The hour features the return of Harvey’s rival Travis Tanner (Eric Close), who claims to be a changed man when he shows up as opposing counsel on a case, as well as Louis (Rick Hoffman) — with the help of Donna and Rachel (Meghan Markle) — scheming against Jack Soloff (John Pyper-Ferguson) to reverse that change in compensation.
Yahoo TV spoke with Rafferty about the joys of spray tanning, that amazing moment in last week’s episode when Harvey thanked Donna “for 12 years,” and what’s next.
Let’s start with the photo: How did you learn about this scene?
That was actually really funny. I was on set shooting a different episode, and our producing director, Anton [Cropper], came over and said, “Has Bray called you?” Bray being Kevin Bray, who was directing [”Toe to Toe”] and who we’re all very close to because he directed our pilot and was our producing director for the first couple of seasons. I was like, “No. Why?” Anton was trying to stay very, very professional. “So in the next episode, you’re going to be naked in Harvey’s bed.” I was like, “Wait, what?” The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Can I have a spray tan?” From then on, I think he relaxed a lot because he realized he wasn’t going to get a whole lot of push-back. Working with Kevin Bray, I knew there was nothing to worry about, that it wouldn’t be overly revealing, it would be tastefully shot, it would be beautiful… And I got that spray tan.
That was my next question.
I don’t think I’m gonna get any endorsements from the spray tan company. I don’t know about spray tans. [Laughs.] It was a pretty funny process, being kind of, like, hosed down. There’s a tent that they erect in your living room, and then you basically get gently hosed down by this tanning solution, and you need to not touch anything. And of course, I couldn’t not do that, and then my palms ended up being a funny color. It was like setting a toddler free with mommy’s makeup; I should not have been invited to do that.
Did filming the scene go according to plan?
It did. There’s a lot of downtime when you’re filming, but since I was just wearing a pair of boxers underneath that sheet, I couldn’t keep getting up and chatting and stuff like that. So I was a little bit like the Queen of Siam, just shouting at people like, “Gabriel, can you come over here and talk to me?” There was a funny moment when he kept standing at the exact worse position for me. I was like, “If you keep standing over there, I’m gonna have to roll over and someone’s gonna see a heck of a lot of side boob. So can you please come over and stand over here?” [Laughs.] It was nice: I just stayed there and people brought me water, and coffee, and I could say magazines, but it wasn’t that exciting. By this point, we all know each other so well, and we’ve worked together for so long, and as you know, I’ve been friends with Gabriel for 20 years, so everything’s really comfortable.
We’ll keep things spoiler-free, but story-wise, what do you like about the scene?
I think it’s actually a really interesting moment in the season for this to be happening. It’s really well-placed, because we’ve spent a lot of time with Harvey and Donna being at odds, and this is a moment where we could be reminded of the fact that, whether or not this is actually in reality, they’re close. They have a deep connection, and obviously, since it is a dream sequence, they factor heavily in each other’s subconscious. I’ve been saying that for a while: People frequently ask me, “Does Donna want to be with Harvey?” And I say, “Donna tells herself that she doesn’t want to be with Harvey, but I think her subconscious may be operating on a different wavelength than her conscious.” So this is an interesting little peek into Harvey’s subconscious, and we’ll see him deal with this dream throughout the episode and kind of reconcile with what it was actually about. Because dreams are often very interesting and about something else than what they seem to be on the surface.
This season of Suits is obviously so much about how Harvey is dealing with the loss of Donna, and it’s taking us inside his head like never before, which is great. We’ve only gotten the occasional glimpse at how Donna is really feeling about the separation now, like when she finally told Harvey that the minute she did something for herself, he started treating her like a stranger. Have you given a lot of thought to how she’s handled it off-screen? And will we get to see more of that?
I’ve definitely imagined what her process was, coming out of that bit of a scare in her life where she thought she was possibly gonna go to jail [at the end of Season 4]. That really was the catalyst for her making this decision [to work for Louis]. That’s a really good example of the writers placing those flashbacks so beautifully, because while she’s going through that in the present day, we flash-back to her 12 years ago going to work for Harvey but saying she’s going to be an actress. She thought she was on a different path. But the answer to your question is, yes, we’ll find out that Donna does indeed have a rich, full life outside the office.
I wanted to talk about that moment at the end of last week’s episode, when Harvey came to Donna and thanked her for the last 12 years. Could you feel how huge a moment that would be while filming it?
Our director on that episode, Silver Tree, is one of our regular directors and is so awesome, and when we were filming that, she would walk in after a take with her jaw down and her arms to her side, kinda slumped, like she was gutted. She’d walk in and be like, “Oh my God, I’m so excited for this moment.” That’s what gave me the sense that it was a special moment.
We shot me first, and then we turned around and shot Gabriel. I remember the take that we ended up using, where he has that little bit of a smile. I went, “Oh, wow! Donna would love that! Donna is gonna be so psyched to get that from Harvey.” [Laughs.] I do remember, on her behalf, as her friend, being like, “Oh, good! You got that, Donna! You got what you needed in that moment.”
I think it was a well-earned moment. Even from the beginning of Season 5, we’ve been through a lot of rough moments with Harvey and Donna, especially in that earlier scene in that episode when she finally lets him have it: “You’re being awful to me, and I gave 12 years to you.” It took a minute for that to sink in, but he came around and found it in himself to thank her. I was not watching the episode, but my Twitter feed was blowing up. There were so many emojis, and #feels, and people talking about the [cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” by Tyler Ward, Kina Grannis, and Lindsey Stirling]. It all came together well.
How does Donna view their relationship now? Are they at the place where, if they need help, they’ll be there for each other again?
That was an important moment for them, a kind of healing, because of course they’re gonna always be there for each other. That’s what she was talking about: We had 12 years, we don’t just turn into ice kings and queens with each other. We have a relationship. So yes, when push comes to shove, they have each other, and they’ll be there for each other because their relationship transcends the workplace.
Donna’s relationship with Louis also seems to have reached a new level: He listened to her and trusted that Harvey was doing right by his sister during her divorce negotiations. Donna influences Louis again in “Toe to Toe.” What have you enjoyed about their relationship, and what can we expect moving forward?
I enjoyed this episode [”Toe to Toe”] because you do see them as a team, as a partnership. This is related to what I said before: Again, their partnership transcends work. They are a work family, and they truly care about each other, and so we get to have a good sense of that kind of support that goes beyond just support as a colleague — it’s support as people, and friends, and family. That’s a theme that continues to go through the season about these relationships, how deep the bond runs between all six regular characters at this law firm. They are a family.
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'Suits': Sarah Rafferty Previews Harvey's Sexy Dream, Recounts Filming His 'Thank You'
Last edited by Gio Gio; 07-23-2015 at 09:41 AM
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Pretty outfits!
