‘Suits’ Star Denise Crosby Talks About Joining USA’s Hit Show, And Shares Some Fond Memories From Her Days On ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’

The end is nigh for Suits: the long-running legal drama has been a USA Network staple since its debut in June 2011, and when this current season wraps up, so too will the series. As it happens, the show’s profile has never been higher, thanks to one of its cast members having joined the long-running British reality series known as The Royal Family —it feels like it’s been going on for centuries at this point!— so securing a recurring gig on the final season of Suits would be a nice score for anyone. Having secured one of those plum roles, it’s doubtful that anyone would question Denise Crosby’s credentials: in addition to playing Lt. Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation, she’s been bouncing up and down the TV dial for quite some time now, having popped up on just about every drama of note for an episode or two, not to mention a number of high-profile and critically acclaimed films.

Decider talked to Crosby in conjunction with her Suits debut, got the scoop on her character, and learned just how much she loves the man who plays Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), but she was also kind enough to indulge us as we asked her to reminisce about some of her past projects, which resulted in anecdotes about Pet Sematary, Miracle Mile, Leonard Nimoy, the Tom Tom Club, and the Fox drama which she would’ve been happy to do forever but instead saw it cancelled after a mere 13 episodes.

DECIDER: To ask the obligatory first question, how did you find your way into the Suits family in the first place?

DENISE CROSBY: Oh, well, like anything, I had to audition. This is their final season, and this is a really dynamic, pivotal character, and they wanted to really be sure that this was the right move. So I tested, and Aaron Korsh, the creator, said, “That’s my Faye Richardson!” [Laughs.] So here we go!

How did they describe the character of Faye Richardson to you?

Well, Faye is what’s called a special master, which is an actual thing. She is sent by the New York Bar Association to come into the firm, and she delivers a court order giving her the complete control. At this point, they’ve had two managing partners be disbarred and an associate go to jail, and they’re on the edge of disaster and total chaos. So they’re allowed to have a chance to clean up their act, and I’m sort of the “fixer,” in that case.

Of course, despite trying to fix things, I’m sure they don’t exactly see you as “the good guy.”

Precisely. They don’t want someone coming in and making them do things their way.

Well, nobody likes change. 

[Laughs.] No. Especially not when you’re getting away with all kinds of shenanigans!

How was it for you to come onto the series? Not only is it heading for the end of its run with this season, but there’s just the whole thing of stepping into an pre-existing “family” like that.

Exactly. It can go either way, but I must say, this group was so welcoming and embracing and patient with me kind of getting up to speed. This is a well-oiled machine on every level. The actors, certainly, are trusting and familiar with each other, and it’s a very specific sort of rhythm and style, this kind of writing and the tone of the show. But they have been nothing but gracious and helpful.

I know working actors don’t always get to watch a whole lot of TV, but were you a Suits fan going in? Or if not, were you at least aware of the show?

Oh, sure, I was aware of it. I mean, you’d have to live under a rock to not be aware of that one, with our Duchess [Meghan Markle] coming out of there! [Laughs.] Well, not our duchess. England’s Duchess. We fought that war and won!

But it’s interesting: I had never seen the show, and I was cast, so I had to quickly kind of get up to speed and binge a little bit so that I could get an understanding. Certainly people have talked to me about Suits. I’ve heard people loving it. I’m thinking of one particular close friend of mine who said years ago, “You’re not watching Suits? What is wrong with you?” [Laughs.] But like you said, there’s so many things on TV, there’s no way you can watch all of it, unless… I don’t know, unless you sit in front of the TV 24/7. And I don’t!

Trust me, even TV critics can’t keep up nowadays.

Yeah, it’s just impossible. I mean, every time I open my email, Netflix is sending me something saying that I’ll like this! Which is kind of creepy. [Laughs.] How do you know what I like?

Ah, the algorithm. 

Yeah, right? It’s scary.

Who do you tend to work with on the show? Or is it a case where you get to spread the wealth?

I’m pretty much working with everyone at this point. Some relationships are a little bit easier than others. Harvey gives me a good run for my money, and I’m trying to sort of gain the trust of Donna, who is sort of the heart and soul of the firm and may be the one who can be the most reasonable. I think Katrina as well is a very smart one. Basically, I’m provoking them into asking themselves, “What kind of lawyer do you ultimately want to be?” So it’s kind of going that way. But they all have their very unique personalities. Louis is just a riot. Rick Hoffman was the first one I kind of had real scenes with, and he’s the first person I appeal to. I’m basically delivering him the court order. He’s just… I just adore him. [Laughs.] I love him. His body language. Everything about him.

He’s actually the person I was most curious about in terms of working with him, because since the first season of that show, he’s struck me as being almost a modern-day Paul Lynde. 

Oh, my God, that’s really a very accurate description. You’re right! You’ve got to be on your toes with him, because he’ll try different stuff and he’ll change it up a little bit. And I love that. I’m just really tickled and ready to go wherever he wants to go with that. But I love that description of him! He’s just so loose-limbed and…he’s hysterically funny!

I wanted to ask about a few projects from your back catalog, starting with the fact that you were in a number of Blake Edwards movies. I know that part of the reason for that ongoing collaboration was that you were married to his son, Geoffrey, but I presume you must’ve worked well together, too.

Blake was just a master. He really ran just a beautifully crafted set and was such a fine director. I was blessed to be able to work with him and these incredible actors he hired. For me, it was just wonderful.

Before I even knew I was going to be talking to you, I noticed that Skin Deep had been added to  Amazon Prime, so I revisited it. I’d forgotten how funny it was. 

Oh, my God, I haven’t seen it in so long. Does it hold up?

Relatively well, yes. 

Oh, great! I should revisit it myself.

I will say that it holds up predominantly because of John Ritter. He’s great. 

Well, what a gift it was to be able to work with him. I worked with him twice, actually. I did a TV movie with him as well, me and Katey Sagal. What a wonderful, wonderful guy. And what a loss.

It’s kind of a cult classic as opposed to one of your signature works, but how was the experience of making Miracle Mile?

Wow… That was incredible! That was a little gem of a script, and just being able to work with that ensemble of actors and Steve De Jarnatt, who wrote and directed that film, and then you had this incredible team of producers… That was sort of right at the beginning of the whole indie film scene, and there was a company called Hemdale at the time. founded by David Hemmings and Jon Daly. They were extraordinary. They were really about letting the directors and writers craft the film that they envisioned. They were not about the bottom line or the dollar. I mean, obviously, they had their concerns with that, but it was really a unique kind of experience.

There was just a big screening of Miracle Mile, actually. I wasn’t able to see it because I was up in Toronto filming, but I got a message from Steve De Jarnatt that they were screening it and giving it some kind of honor. Just a couple of years ago, they did a transfer and did a Blu-ray release, and we did a bunch of extras. We got together back at Johnny’s Diner, where that whole thing takes place with us.

I interviewed Anthony Edwards a few years back, and he told me that Steve had wanted to make Miracle Mile for awhile before he actually got to do it, but everybody wanted him to change the ending, and he refused to let it have a happy ending.

That’s exactly right! And he held fast. He really held out for that. And good on him for doing it, because I don’t think there is a happy ending to that one.

I can’t see how there would be. 

No. But that’s a risk he was willing to take, and I think it paid off.

So did it surprise you to see your career continue long enough for one of your films to be remade [Pet Sematary]?

Oh, my God, isn’t that strange? I can’t tell you how strange that was! But I guess if you hang around long enough, you start to see that happen. And when they start to do retrospectives of your work… My God, am I that old? [Laughs.] But I did get to see the remake, and it was a very interesting feeling. Brad Greenquist, who played Victor Pascal in the original film, he and I still very good friends, and we walked over to my little neighborhood theater for a matinee to see the remake. And when we got there, the manager of the theater recognized us and closed the theater so we could watch it alone!

That’s really cool. 

It was very cool. It was really fun. It was very impromptu, but…we had a private screening! And it was really fun to do it that way.

As far as the original film goes, what was Fred Gwynne like?

Oh, what a legend. Just an extraordinary guy. Funny, smart, very open. He would regale us with fabulous stories. And he was very humble. He’d had many different careers at many different levels in Hollywood. He was just amazing.

And before we step away from Pet Sematary, I just wanted to ask about working with Mary Lambert. 

Well, Mary is one of my best friends, and she and I met before she started working in film. She was a much sought-after music video director, and I was in her very first music video that she directed, which was a song from the Tom Tom Club. Do you remember that band?

Absolutely! Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz from Talking Heads.

Yeah! So Mary went to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) with the Talking Heads. They were all in art school together, and she’s still very good friends with Chris and Tina, who formed the Tom Tom Club. So they gave her the video to make, and Judd Nelson and I are the lovers in the video.

Which video is it? I can’t believe I wasn’t already aware of this. 

Yeah, the song is “As Above, So Below.” I’m sure you can find it on YouTube. I loved that band. I love them still!

Okay, the time has come to ask the requisite Star Trek: The Next Generation question. 

Oh, that old thing… [Laughs.]

Yeah, you know, a guy’s gotta ask. Looking back on your experience on the show and the short-lived run of Tasha Yar, do you still look back on that as a positive experience? Do you wish it had lasted longer? 

Oh, my God, yes, it was an extraordinary thing to be part of. It’s just bigger than the sum of its parts. It just continues, and it’s touched so many people. My favorite part of it, I think, is when I meet young women who were little girls when they were watching it and have now become scientists. They went into science because they saw women in these kinds of roles that were technical, and they were allowed to be strong, and that it was a possibility for them. That’s just, like, wow. I’m so encouraged by that and just really grateful to be part of that, to show girls that they can be strong.

I loved it when you returned as Sela. It seemed like you were more comfortable in her shoes than you were in Tasha’s.

Well, you know, it was a great surprise to be able to continue. I mean, when I died at the end of the first season, I never anticipated that I’d be back in any way! So it began with “Yesterday’s Enterprise” in the third season, which has become a fan favorite and is so well-written, and that kind of opened the door for me to kind of come up with the idea of this character Sela. It was kind of amazing, when you stop and think about it, what I was able to do with that. It was really good.

And you got to work with Leonard Nimoy.

Right? [Laughs.] How cool was that? Brent Spiner and I were both… You know, we kind of stepped away from the set and we went, “Wow, man, this is pretty cool, working with Spock!” Never thought that would happen…

And kind of a sidebar question, but when Patrick Stewart announced that he was going to be doing this Picard series, I was startled. What was your reaction? 

Oh, it was jaw-dropping! [Laughs.] I never thought that would happen! I just thought, the man had delivered that role and put the period at the end of the sentence. Done! And I remember him announcing it, because it was at the big Star Trek convention that they have annually in Las Vegas. It’s coming up next month, in fact! But there was this big presentation with him making this announcement. It was pretty secret. I mean, there were rumors, but none of the cast members knew. So it was pretty surprising! I hope it works in the way that he anticipates.

You and me both.

Right? [Laughs.] I’m sure it will. I mean, he’s not going to do something that’s soulless.

And I doubt Michael Chabon will, either. I still can’t believe he’s the show runner. 

I know! I went, “What?!” [Laughs.] It’s going to be interesting. I don’t even have CBS All Access. But I might have to get it now!

Lastly, do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on over the years that didn’t get the love you thought it deserved? 

Yes. Absolutely. I did a series for Fox called Key West, and we only did 13 episodes, one season, but I just think that show… I would’ve been happy to let that thing run forever. It was such good writing, so colorful, and so interesting. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it, but David Beard was the creator and writer, and it was one of Showtime’s very first collaborations with broadcast television. But it just didn’t get a fair shot. The pilot premiered opposite Bill Clinton’s inaugural ball, and I think Barbra Streisand was singing for the first time on television in, like, a hundred years or something. [Laughs.] So nobody tuned in. And then the head of Fox Television left to become the head of film production, and they bought in this new guy…and historically the new guys don’t like what the old guys develop. So we were cancelled. But to be down in Key West shooting a series with Jennifer Tilly and Fisher Stevens and this eclectic group of actors and colorful characters… I would’ve really kept going with that one!

Will Harris (@NonStopPop) has a longstanding history of doing long-form interviews with random pop culture figures for the A.V. Club, Vulture, and a variety of other outlets, including Variety. He’s currently working on a book with David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. (And don’t call him Shirley.)

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