Suits LA Star Josh McDermitt Knows Stuart Lane Isn't Like The Characters He's Known for Playing
The actor previously appeared on The Walking Dead playing a character very different from his Suits LA character.
From some of his first moments on screen, it was clear that Stuart Lane is unlike any character fans have seen actor Josh McDermitt portray before. He first became a household name on The Walking Dead as the competent yet cowardly Eugene, which is why it was jarring for some to see him portray the ultra-confident, no-nonsense Lane.
Speaking to NBC Insider in a recent interview, McDermitt acknowledged that he’s playing a character that’s far different than what people know him for. That said, anyone who has watched Suits LA will tell you he’s more than up to the challenge and having a blast doing it.
“After coming off of The Walking Dead, you know, where I’m just covered in blood and guts and sweat all the time, I like the appeal of playing someone so put together,” he explained. “Because I play a lot more blue-collar type guys, normally. Or, you know, guys that might be wearing a flannel and maybe don’t shower or they don’t take care of themselves or whatever. So, to just have that person who’s like wealthy, bathes, is not covered in dirt and blood, and grease and… Yeah, that’s, honestly challenging for me and that’s what was exciting.”
The actor also noted that, while in his personal life he would opt to wear a T-shirt, he has found being constantly dressed in nice suits quite refreshing and has changed his opinion on fashion. However, playing someone impeccably dressed and well-kept is only one big difference from previous characters like Eugene that McDermitt played. When Stuart Lane is working with a difficult client like, say, Enrico Colantoni, he is very gruff, somewhat arrogant and is even willing to insult his clients.
“Eugene did have extreme confidence, just in his intelligence. But just not in like survival skills or social skills and that sort of thing. So finding the nuances of that was always a struggle. Because I didn’t feel like that was me,” the actor explained. “And then, coming into Stuart, I feel like it’s a struggle because yeah, he’s got this extreme confidence that I also don’t feel like is me. I’m probably more, I’m closer to the start of Eugene than I am where we first meet Stuart. It’s just being comfortable and confident in who you are, what you do, what you want, where you’re headed.”
He added: “I guess there’s a bit of an arrogance to him. But it really just comes from being confident and it’s not from a place of false confidence. Where I think that’s really where you get into trouble with arrogance. So, it’s been fun to explore that and to play a guy who’s probably the smartest guy in any room he walks into.”
While it’s interesting to see the incredibly tough front Lane puts on with clients, McDermitt enjoys playing the more comedic and “immature” moments he has when interacting with friends and colleagues. For example, he noted that in the moments we’ve seen with him and Ted Black (Stephen Amell) prior to their massive falling out, the two are “middle school children. But they’re also very smart guys.”
McDermitt concluded by teasing that, despite him and Black being bitter rivals whose friendship is on the mend in recent episodes, he’s excited to play into more of their partnership going forward.
“I read the pilot and knew where that was headed,” he said. “Where a lot of people didn’t necessarily know what was going to take place in the first episode. I mean that threw a lot of people for a loop.”
He added: “Knowing what Stuart does in that first episode but also being such good friends with Ted, where it appealed to me to find where that came from. You know, what was it that caused Stuart so much heartache that he felt like he had to set up that boundary with Ted?”
As the attorneys on Suits LA continue to go through trials and tribulations, more of their friendship will come to light and they may even fix their rivalry. Curious fans will just have to tune into Suits LA to find out.
Catch new episodes of Suits LA Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming next-day on Peacock.
