How rocked is Donna going to be when she finds out that Mike’s been arrested after everything she’s been doing?
Donna’s a very emotionally connected person, and she’s such an impasse, so I think she can really understand how much this is going to affect those that are near and dear to her, so she’s rocked.
We know that she ends up with Harvey again. Can we talk about how the dynamics shift a bit with the people around her during this crisis, like between Harvey and her?
That’s an interesting question. I think you’re going to be surprised at how the dynamics shift. There’s one way that we would assume that would be, and somebody’s going to show a different side of themselves. That’s very fulfilling for me as a viewer of the show. I was excited about that. Heading back, it’s so familiar. It’s such a comfortable place, so that’s great, but something’s going to happen and her faith is going to be tested a little bit.
Then for you, what was it like to go back to the old desk after getting used to the new desk. Was that moment a little weird?
It was. I was really upset about all the crap that was in my drawers. Another thing you can quote wrong. They haven’t kept my … It wasn’t all exactly how I wanted it to be. Yeah, so it was nice. It was like a homecoming. It was like no time had passed.
At the end of 5/10, Donna knows what’s what’s going on with Harvey who’s at this very emotional point in his life; does she incorporate that in any way?
She does, actually. Donna has a way of manipulating a situation so that she can get what she wants, but have that person think that they’re getting what they want. She does know how to navigate the fact that Harvey has been in therapy in a way that can serve him and serve what she wants ultimately.
When you found out of the big twist in 5/10 with Mike being arrested, who was your first suspect of who may have turned him in?
Who did I suspect? I suspected Trevor. That’s who I suspected. Then I also wondered if it was Jack Soloff, if there was some Jack Soloff situation happening.
Are you happy with who it ended up being? Do you like the plot?
I’m really happy with where the plot has gone. I think it’s amazing that at the end of season 5, midway through season 5, they put themselves on a train to have a major shift on the show. I think it’s going to be great. I think every season ends with a gut punch and a bit of an explosive thing that you didn’t see coming, and they don’t tend to shy away from those things. They sort of dive in.
Do you all as actors knowing that that’s the pattern? Do you brace yourselves then as you’re getting down to those final few, like, “Okay, we know something’s coming and what is it?” Do you prepare yourself for that?
I would say we’re not prepared because we’re exhausted. That’s definitely some of the conversation in the make-up trailer, like, “Wow, so that happened. What do you think? Who’s talked to Aaron? Who has recently been on the phone with Aaron?” We try to piece together. “Well he told me this. Well he told that. Well he told me that,” because everybody gets a little piece of what’s going on with their character. Then we try to put it all together. I need to still get some intel about next season. That might have to be two mojitos in it.
Megan teased that Rachel and Donna butt heads in these back six. What can you tell us?
Donna gets put in a situation where she gets kind of knocked off of her normal calibration, and, as I said, her faith gets challenged. She has momentary lapse in where her loyalties should lie in her life. She’s not thinking clearly and she definitely takes some stuff out on Rachel. They have a really strong friendship, (starts singing) so what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger… Kelly Clarkson. She’s going to come on our show. I just said it so it’s happening. Right? (laughs)
Something that Gabriel did tell us that we can’t figure out is that this back six is very serious. There’s not a lot of jokes. Considering how much they liked the fun character Donna is, how does she fit into that life?
Well, I can say this. She is a really emotional person, like I started out saying. She really connects to everybody else’s emotional experience. Aaron has said in the past that she’s the emotional glue. It’s really fun playing her because Harvey’s somebody who is not in touch with his emotions so she’s the opposite and navigates his emotional life for him. Yeah, it’s serious. There’s not a lot of painting with the colors of the funny stuff, but it wouldn’t fit with what’s going on right now because the stakes just got so high at the end of [5] 10. There’s really not a chance to have a lot of lightness. We’ll see. Maybe Season 6 some of that levity will come back. Maybe there will be some healing.
Are there any parts of your character’s fashion that you would want to take into your everyday life or that you absolutely hate?
I would take every aspect of her fashion into my everyday life. I would leave the Spanx out of it (laughs). I can’t imagine refusing any single solitary piece of her wardrobe if it would come my way. I would say, “Yes.” I would build a wing on my house to house her wardrobe for sure. I probably wouldn’t hang out in the pickup line at preschool in those outfits, but I’d like to have them at home.
Stay tuned for the remaining interviews. If you missed the previous ones, they are linked below for easy access.
Gina Torres (Jessica Pearson)
Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross)
Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen)
Gabriel Macht (Harvey Specter)
Meghan Markle (Rachel Zane)
Aaron Korsh
Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt)