Carly Pope Teases Her New Character on ‘Suits’

This season on Suits we’ve seen Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) settle into prison and we’ve watched the downfall of the Pearson Specter Litt Law Firm. So what else can we expect in a season already packed with surprises? We got the chance to speak with newcomer Carly Pope about a new storyline added to the mix on this week’s episode. Could this be a new love interest for Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman)?

RELATED: How the Firm Will Stay Together After Mike Goes to Prison

Tell us a little about Tara, your character on Suits this season.
My character is an architect who is hired by Louis to come into Pearson Specter Litt to redesign the space, because, as we’ve seen up until this point, they’ve had to sublease some of their office space out, and that’s becoming quite problematic for Louis. So he hires me to come in and potentially separate the spaces, and it goes from there.

Watch an exclusive clip of Carly Pope’s first scene on Suits:

Do you have any personal connection to Tara? Any architectural experience?
No, I’m a miserable visual artist. Every time I try to paint or draw, I’m always just shaking my head and just looking at the paper. But that said, I was trying to get in the mindset of what it would be like when you see the world in shapes and figures and lines. I was trying to get it back down to basics. It was twofold. One, I was listening to a TED talk on palette design and trying to understand what it’s like to see the world artistically and how you sort of maintain traditional boundaries but still try to be more radical and push the boundaries. I also read up on a lot of female architects that have been incredibly lauded and successful in this field and I was learning more of what that’s like for the female experience in a “man’s world.” All of those things kind of informed me on how to look and infuse Tara with certain qualities that she could bring to the table.

Are you looking forward to seeing how the character ties into the rest of the season?
Yeah, I’m really eager to see how the dynamic between Louis and Tara plays out. Tara is kind of oblivious to Louis’s intentions other than that he has hired her to do this job. Episode four is fun because she is there to do her job, she’s there to fulfill the client’s needs, and Louis sort of develops deeper feelings. She remains a little bit less aware of those intentions. It’ll be fun to see how that actually plays out.

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How do you think the fans are going to react to this Louis/Tara situation?
I hope that they react openly to it. As we get to see Tara and Louis and their dynamic grow a little bit more, if I’ve been half the actor Rick Hoffman is, I hope that at the very least the audience is able to see that the bond that they have is genuine and is pretty simple with one another. It’s a genuine ease and a genuine kinship with one another.

A love interest will be a good change of pace from the storylines about the downfall of the firm and Mike in prison.
Yeah, I hope it’s a nice but also justified distraction. I hope that that’s what we see. The thing is that they actually have a pretty up front bond with one another, even though right away Louis is kind of up to his old tricks. But as you see them relate to one another, I hope that what the audience gleans is that they are kind of guided and pushing one another to just be good people.

RELATED: Carly Pope Shoots Over to Arrow

Were you a fan of the show before you auditioned for the part or did you decide to just go for it and go from there?
I was not an avid watcher of the show, but that was only by circumstance, because I didn’t have DVR. I didn’t have the ability to record shows and just not being in town it was tough to try and get on a schedule of watching the show every week. I did see the first season when it aired and I really loved it. I thought it was a beautiful show. I haven’t seen Seasons 2 and 3, but when I was auditioning for this part, I binged Seasons 4 and 5 in a weekend. I was just enamored with everything. It’s so unbelievable. It’s just a great show between Aaron [Korsh] and the dialect that he’s created within the show, and all the characters’ dynamics, and the personal and intrapersonal relationships within themselves and with one another, everything is just really delightful to watch and I feel beyond fortunate to be a part of it.

Do you hope to come back again after this four-episode stint?
Oh my gosh, it would be incredible to be a part of this show as long as they want to have me. I really think this show is the gift that keeps on giving, and as I’ve mentioned before, I feel so fortunate to be a part of it.

Do you think that you’ll keep up with watching the show now that you’ve been a part of it?
Oh, of course. It would be an impossibility to invest in them and just shun them. It’s not even an option. You have to watch where it all goes. I’ve met some incredible people on this season so it’ll be fun to watch. Between Malcolm-Jamal Warner and having Alan Rosenberg come through and Erik Palladino and Paul Schulze, there’s just so many people to watch and learn from this year.

How would you like to see this season unfold and play out?
I don’t think I can say on the season as a whole, but in regards to my storyline, I’d love to see it developed sincerely. That’s about the best way I can phrase around the subject. I really like when shows show the grey area in life, and I think that there’s a certain amount of that you get to see with Tara. I’d love to see that continue because I think that’s where the interesting elements are. That’s where the real stuff comes from, when you’re actually in the grey zone.

Suits, Wednesdays, 9/8c. USA.