From creator/showrunner Aaron Korsh, the USA Network series Suits, now in its ninth and final season, sees the Manhattan corporate law firm Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams facing uncertainly, as they fight to salvage the firm’s tarnished reputation. With Robert Zane (Wendell Pierce) having taken the fall with the Bar Association, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty) are trying to balance their relationship with work while Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl) is figuring out what life without her mentor looks like, and Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), Alex Williams (Dulé Hill) and Katrina Bennett (Amanda Schull) must all join the fight to salvage the firm’s tarnished reputation, especially as an outside force threatens to tear it all down.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor Dulé Hill talked about the incredible journey he’s taken with Suits since he joined in Season 7, his desire to add to this story and world in a positive way, how bad things will get for these lawyers that the fans of the series have grown to love, his character’s personal journey in the last season, what he’s most enjoyed about working with this cast, the return of Patrick J. Adams, and what he hopes to take home from the set. He also talked about what fans can expect from Psych: The Movie 2, due out later this year, his favorite Gus nicknames, and what it’s meant to him to be a part of two hit TV series, with The West Wing and Psych, and how great the fans of each have been.

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Collider:  I’ve been a fan of Suits, since the beginning, and you were a welcome addition to the show. As sad as I am that it’s the last season, the first couple of episodes are definitely setting up some interesting things.

DULE HILL:  Yeah. I’m thankful to be a part of the show. It’s been a wonderful journey. They welcomed me with open arms, when I first joined the cast, and I’m glad to be able to be with them, on their way to bringing the show home. And yeah, you’re right, the stuff that they’ve put together for this year has been very exciting to film. It’s been very exciting to read the scripts as they come along, to see where they’re going, and I’m excited for the audience to see how the story wraps up.

When you joined the show, what was your hope or expectation for it? Did you know that you’d be sticking around until the end, whenever that ended up being?

HILL:  Yeah, my original understanding and my hopes for the journey was that I would be with the show until it came to a close, which I figured wouldn’t be that much longer. The idea of a show running for seven seasons is a long time, much less nine seasons. Really, my main thing was that I wanted to add to the story and the whole world because they had already done such a phenomenal job of creating this intense world that people were connected to, and you want to make sure you end it right. I didn’t want to be a part of the conversation where it was like, “Oh no, the show was good until Dulé Hill came,” or “I was a big fan of it until the last couple of seasons. I don’t know where they went after that.” It’s hard to join a cast late and find a way to reinvent the world, or at least add to the world. So, that was my main thing. I wanted to handle it with care. It was a gift that Patrick [J. Adams], Gabriel [Macht], Sarah [Rafferty], Rick [Hoffman] and Gina [Torres] extended to me. They did all of the work and laid all of the groundwork. I just wanted to do my part in bringing it home properly.

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Image via USA Network

It seems like things definitely get shaken up, on every season of this show, but in this last season, it seems like things are going to be turned upside down, shaken up, and then put upright and shaken up again. How bad will things get, with someone from outside of the firm now scrutinizing their every move?

HILL:  Things are going to get extremely bad. They’re going to get bad to the nth degree. It’s one thing when there’s power moves inside of the firm, or even the firm adjacent, like with another firm that’s got an old partner, or somebody who’s hovering around. But we have someone who’s completely from the outside, coming in and saying, “This is how things are going to go. All of your old tricks, all of your old ways of doing things, all of the old ingredients that you use to bake your cake, cannot come into play.” How do these flawed individuals but brilliant lawyers react? How will they navigate through this new landscape? It’s still their home, but it’s a completely different landscape. It’s as if somebody came in and remodeled your home, while you went to sleep, and said, “No, that door is not open anymore. Actually, there’s a wall there now. To get over there, you need to go down this hall and make two lefts, instead of going straight through that door.” How do these characters start to navigate that? It’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks, and you’ll see a lot of that happening. There will be a lot of resistance to change, and resistance to someone coming in trying to buck the system, but the person coming in and saying, “No, I am the system.” It’s going to be exciting for the audience to go on the journey and see how it all plays out. I haven’t read all of the scripts yet, so I don’t even personally know exactly how it’s going to end, but there were some things that I read, where I was like, “Oh, my gosh!” It caught me by surprise. I said, “Oh, wow! Okay. I didn’t see that coming.” If that happened to me, and I have an inside track, I think it’s going to be that much more interesting for the audience.

At the same time, what can you say about Alex’s personal journey this season?

HILL:  For Alex’s personal journey, he came into this world really antagonistic and butting heads with a lot of different people, whether it was Mike Ross or Samantha Wheeler, just because he was trying to learn from his past, and also create space for himself, inside of this world. At the end of last year, we started to see Alex become more a part of the team, and I believe, in this season, he really starts to value those relationships and friendships because he’s seen the value of that, even from him getting out from underneath the thumb that was on top of him. Also, Alex’s past will continue to haunt him. You can try to put your dark secrets and your demons away, locked in the closet, but the boogeyman is always trying to get out, and the boogeyman, for Alex, is going to continue to rear his head. You’ll see how that all plays out for him, in the end.

No matter how contentious things get between your characters, at times, it seems like you guys all have a ton of fun with each other, especially if the photos you post on social media are any indication. What have you most enjoyed about working with this cast, over the seasons?

HILL:  For myself, it’s the laughter and the story. Everyone plays a wonderful character on television, but everyone is also a very unique, interesting character within themselves. I was brought to the party late, but it’s been fun to see how Rick and Gabriel interact with each other, or how Sarah and Rick interact with each other. With the old stories and the inside track, they’re always filling me in on something that happened in previous seasons, and it always cracks me up. One of the pictures that I posted on Instagram was Rick showing me something that happened in Season 1, and I love that interaction and camaraderie. And then, for myself with Katie [Heigl], I just love working with her. We got a chance to experience a little bit on Doubt, but to be able to really have a chance, over two seasons, to do work together on Suits, I’ve just really enjoyed working with her. She’s such a phenomenal actress, and she has a good time on set. She doesn’t take it too seriously. She likes to laugh and have fun, and that’s the way that I like to approach my work, too. We’re getting a chance to play make believe as a living, and to tell stories that hopefully will move and engage people, so let’s not make it seem like we’re carrying the weight of the world on us. We’re actually very blessed, so let’s have fun. And Katie and I have a wonderful time, every time we work together. I’ve known her for a few years now, and we have a good time. That’s my experience. I love being a part of the party. And a show like Suits has had so many wonderful guest actors, and I get a chance to cross paths with people who I haven’t seen in awhile, I’m always looking forward to seeing who’s coming in next, whether it’s a director or an actor. They really bring some wonderful talent on the show and I enjoy that, too. I’ve been blessed to be in this business for a few years now, and you start to know more and more people, so it’s nice when I see someone come in and I can go, “Oh, man, I haven’t seen you! What’s happening?” And you get a chance to catch up with everybody.

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Image via USA Network

It says a lot that even though Patrick J. Adams had already left the show, that he’s back this season, for the final season. How has it been to have him back on the show?

HILL:  It’s been great. In my mind, you couldn’t wrap up Suits without having Mike Ross be a part of it. He was one of the first ingredients of the show. You need to have Mike Ross. When I heard he was coming back, I was thrilled for it. I think it’ll be a good way to send the show off. Harvey and Mike have been on such a journey, over time. Even though Patrick hasn’t been on the show for the last season and half, Mike Ross has. Mike Ross has still been there. He’s still been a part of the world and the story. So, when I heard he was coming back, I was thrilled. I was like, “Yes!,” because that’s what should be. It would’ve been just a little bit less fulfilling, not having Mike Ross there. Mike Ross is the icing on the cake.

Is there something that you feel represents Alex that, once Suits is all done and the lights are turned off on the sets, that you hope you can take home with you?

HILL:  I definitely want his Harvard degree. I went through to my junior year of college at Seton Hall University. I did not graduate yet. Maybe one of these days, I will. But Alex Williams went to Harvard Law School, so I would love to take that from his office. I can’t confirm or deny, but it may end up somewhere in Los Angeles, and the place may look like my home, but I can neither confirm nor deny that would be the case.

I’m also excited that, before the end of this year, we’ll get another Psych movie. Since you’ve finished shooting it and you’ve seen a cut of it, what can you say to tease what fans can expect from Psych: The Movie 2?

HILL:  As much as I love the first Psych movie, there was a big void that was there, and that void comes in the name of Timothy Omundson. He comes back with such a vengeance, in this one. The Psych fans are going to love seeing his journey, and love seeing the story that we built around Tim, and seeing Lassiter back in the saddle will be great. And then, beyond that, the script was written by Steve Franks, Andy Berman and James Roday, and they do a great job of picking up where the characters are now, but it also seems like no time has passed, at all. Even though we’re very aware that we’ve moved forward, however many years it’s been, you also feel like you’ve been on the journey with these characters, for the last three years, even though the last movie was three years ago. It’s going to be a lot of fun. All I can tell you is that there are some things that I watch and go, “Oh my gosh! That is just so wrong and so right, all at the same time.” One thing I will tell you is that you will never look at pickling the same way again. And Mary Lightly always just shows up in some shape or form. The way that Jimmi Simpson shows up in this one is pretty classic. I think that’s something that will go down in the Psych Hall of Fame of wonderful appearances.

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Image via USA Network

Do you have favorite Gus nicknames, and are there any particularly good ones in this new movie that will rival some of your favorites from the past?

HILL:  My favorite is always Gus “Silly-Pants” Jackson because that was one of the first ones. I also liked Lavender Gooms because that was the name of my great aunt, who has passed away. I liked MC ClapYoHandz. I enjoyed T.T. Showbiz, the extra T is for extra talent. I know there are some for this movie too, but right now, I’m drawing a complete blank. I know that there will be a classic one.

Even though they’re very different TV shows, Psych and The West Wing are both shows that mean a lot to people. What does having been a part of each of those shows mean to you? Do they also hold a special place in your heart?

HILL:  They do, for different reasons. It’s humbling to be a part of anything that has any lasting value with people. You can have a dream of being an actor, and creating and using art to share stories and tell stories, and people will be receptive to it, and not only be receptive to it, but you can have a major impact on them, and it’s something that goes with the viewing audience, that’s always a humbling thing for me. For it to happen once was extremely humbling, but then for it to happen twice, I’m always in awe of the journey. I remember auditioning, and just praying and hoping that I could get on a TV show. And now to have two hit TV shows, that are resonating with people over time, is beyond anything that I could have imagined.

What I appreciate about The West Wing and the effect that it’s had on the audience is it allowed people to really think about what we could be, as a government and as a nation. It appealed to our higher selves. Back then and even now, it still fits that bar of what we should strive to be, as a nation. Whatever side of the political coin you land on, you should still always be striving for that higher purpose and higher self. The West Wing has inspired that in people, and it’s even inspired people to get into political service. I meet people who say, “I’m actually working for so and so now because of The West Wing,” or “I watched The West Wing, ten years ago, and I went to college for Political Science, and now I’m doing this because of that show.” The idea that art and telling a story could have an impact on somebody who’s going to go out there in the real world and make a real difference, the domino effect of that is mind-blowing.

And in terms of Psych, what blows me away is how it has brought families together. You have generations of people who say, “This is one of the only shows that we can sit down and watch, as a family. I love it, my mother loves it, and my son loves it, and we can all watch it.” Or they’ll say, “My grandson is going to think I’m so cool when they see that I met you because he loves that show.” Or someone will say like, “You remind me of me and my best friend. We’re definitely like Shawn and Gus.” The Psych-Os have really formed a whole community amongst themselves. They love, they support, and they honor each other, for something that they all like, in terms of Psych, but also for all of their unique differences. That’s something about the Psych-Os that I really appreciate. It’s just a vast net of people who are connected, and who interact and have formed friendships, over years, just because of a television show. The Psych-Os have formed something called Psych Inspires, which is where, as Psych-Os, they will go and support organizations or issues, either that the cast have been fans of, or that they, as a group, are connected to. They’ll pool their stuff together to be able to make a little difference someplace else. The fact that could come from a TV show, a comedy, about two grown men who didn’t want to grow up, is pretty awesome to me.

Suits airs on Wednesday nights on the USA Network.