[News article] Why Meghan Markle was underrated as an actress

[TallerSally]

Rare praise from the i:
https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/a-suits-revival-wouldnt-work-without-meghan-2556238

The legal drama Suits is having a surprise moment in the spotlight 12 years after it first aired. The key to its success? Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex

Suits was one of my fave TV shows of the previous decade (2011-2020), a light-hearted break from Homeland, a bit like Revenge… In Suits I LOVED the witty, at times unhinged dialogue (Louis Litt’s origami conventions, mudding, Mikado refusing to use her litter unless it was facing London???), the stunning outfits (especially Jessica’s but also Scotty’s, Donna’s, Katrina Bennett’s and even Eva Hessington’s), the interiors, the celebrity cameos, the snazzy Manhattan (Toronto?) venues… even the depiction of the crazy NYC rat race, in the old days when people wore suits to work day and night in fancy offices…

Another perhaps surprising reason I loved Suits was I was going through a difficult separation and custody battle at the time and spending more time (and money) with lawyers than I ever imagined possible. I learned a TON from Suits, especially from Harvey. One of my all-time greats was (in reference to legal strategy, not crime!): “if someone’s pointing a gun at you, you don’t try to run away or dodge, instead you point a bigger gun at them”…

I also loved the romance between Rachel and Mike, it was feel-good and cuddly without being too sickly. I felt both actors did a great job making their characters seem realistic - in fact the entire ensemble cast was well cast and did great, Meghan included. She also looks really beautiful in the series.

I agree with a PP that it would have been lovely had she been able to continue acting, though she probably had to make a stark choice when things got serious with Harry. I kind of feel sorry for her - she’s given up a lot and I’m not sure she’s better off, in the grand scheme of things… but hey, it’s her life not mine.

Harry himself said it . And it wasn’t just the Queen according to him.

I did enjoy Suits them it went on to long and got too ridiculous. Harvey and Donna were a great partnership. I think the actor who plays Scotty is about the only one I've seen in anything else though tbh.

*too long

Harry noted that things changed for Meghan on set.

“The show writers were frustrated, because they were often advised by the palace comms team to change lines of dialogue, what her character would do, how she would act,” he alleges.

from US Magazine Jan 5 2023 - my search produced a number of articles from different media.

So if it is true that Queen advised Meghan to continue in her career, the above demands from the palace would have made it difficult for Meghan to do so, I expect.

It is a shame that Meghan didn't keep up with her acting career as I think being in the royal family could have opened up more opportunities for her & allowed her to showcase her skills.

Though the suits at the palace would have had to keep their beaks out of things.

If it works for Theodora Greece & Sophie Winkleman it could have worked for Meghan. Meg could have been Rachel Markle at work & Meghan HRH Duchess of Sussex at home.

According to him. I wonder if they actually did. She was definitely told personally to reign it in but her job is just a job.

The resurge in popularity isn't down to her acting skills though let's face it, anyone watching it now is watching out of curiosity to see if she's any good at acting

She was definitely told personally to reign it in but her job is just a job.

I can’t work out what you are referring to?

If it works for Theodora Greece & Sophie Winkleman it could have worked for Meghan. Meg could have been Rachel Markle at work & Meghan HRH Duchess of Sussex at home.

I don’t think it’s that simple.

Neither of them were married to the grandson of the Queen. One was married to the second son of the Queen - it’s a different thing. The other comes from Greek royalty. I had to search for her because I’d never heard of her.

Having seen the media reaction to Meghan before they left - the sheer amount of negative press - I think anything she acted in would have been up for media discussion and media gossip. This leads me to think that the palace would have wanted some control over Meghan’s scripts. I can’t imagine how that would have worked.

Its commonly been remarked on these threads that the women who marry in and have continued to work outside The Firm have not been able to manage it. Not that there were many. The only one I can think of is Sophie. And that didn’t work out. Any others?

Though the suits at the palace would have had to keep their beaks out of things

.@TracyBeakerSoYeah I missed that paragraph. I agree.

She was competent. There are plenty of trained actresses who could perform as well or better in the role.

How would the palace know about the scripts in advance. Can’t believe they would be sent for their approval.

Just because he says it now with hindsight of how they'd like to portray things doesn't make it true at the time.

Check the timeline, they only started appearing at official events as an 'official couple' in Sept 2017 (although obviously everyone knew they'd been dating for the year before) and the last series of Suits that she was in finished filming completely in November 2017 so when exactly did the palace have chance to interfere?

The palace couldn't have done it when the two were 'just dating', it would have tipped everyone off immediately that they were more serious, which is exactly what happened when they became an 'official couple', (eg, the odds on them getting engaged went through the floor) so they only had 2 months to get involved, get the scripts, put pressure on for changes and Meghan to decide she was leaving and get written out? Come on.

I don't doubt there was need for much more privacy on the set as Harry's then-girlfriend was there but can't see how the palace would have been interfering when she was just about to go anyway (Patrick J. Adams had decided to leave separately due to his own marriage, she'd have realistically had no role).

I think this is another example of Harry “ curating” his memories to fit the narrative .

A lot of the “palace said” things seem a lot more likely to be H&M themselves for when they don’t want to do something but feel they can’t say no

@PrincessOfTigger very true, it makes no sense that "The Palace" would have been given access to the scripts or that the Production Team would have listened to them without it garnering huge press attention. She wasn't reported as his girlfriend until Spring/Summer 2017 and her final series of Suits was well into Production by then.

tbh - it comes across as a bit of wishful thinking - "it was such an important relationship the Palace were interfering immediately".

While in reality, at the start, she was just another one of Harry's girlfriends.

Didn't they split up for a while end of 2016 and then got back together at Tom Inskip's wedding early 2017?

I watched suits when it came out - I liked it at the time. Not once did I think she was one of the main cast members, I don’t think she was even on it every episode.

The Mirror printed an article in 2022 that reports: in Tom Bowers’ latest book he had written that very thing - that the palace did interfere with scripts. So it’s not just Harry who claimed it.

Not that I think much of Tom Bower, but that’s how the story of the palace and the Suits scripts came to our attention. Before Harry’s book was published:

I'm not sure of the timeline either re: script interference but had Meghan continued in the role (and had Suits not been cancelled anyway) I don't think the Palace would have been out-of-line in requesting/suggesting that Meghan wasn't given scenes where she was required to act having sex in the archive room (as anyone can see on YouTube).

I'm not saying Harry is the only one who can't be bothered to stick to reality 😂 Tom Bower seems just as lazy at checking the facts, he went on about how worried the palace were at there being a picture of Meghan in a wedding dress... she'd been in one on screen in the show in an episode broadcast before she and Harry even got together (where she got 'left at the altar')!

There were loads of pictures, people used then very early on in clickbait articles to suggest Harry or someone else (depending on article) had left Meghan at the altar, so how were the palace dictating on issues that had already happened?

It’s acting. It’s not really happening. The palace would definitely ‘be out of line’, to request Meghan not do certain types of scenes. Who is going to sign an actress up that had the palace dictating what the actress’ character could or couldn’t do?

To say you can keep on working but we are going to tell your boss what you can and can’t do, is just not workable.

I think Meghan saw that writing on that particular wall. She would have known better than any royal what her job entails.

Yes, Tom bower did blather on about a wedding dress scene, but he also said the palace requested to see and change scripts and mentioned the script writer and someone else’s (the director?) name. No one said ‘no, the palace did not interfere’ but her cast mates and crew members did come out - again - in defence of Meghan, saying how lovely she was (and giving examples) in response to Tom Bowers saying people who work with her had said she was demanding etc..

I think we really have to allow for the very real possibility that Meghan is not the horrible person the media has painted her as, and Harry is not the liar that (also) the media have made him out to be.

As I said earlier, the dates just don't match up, it's not one person's opinion over another, I don't know Harry and Meghan and couldn't care less who is nicer, it's just that reality doesn't match their story.

They've been proven time and time again to be lying about various things that they've personally said (I don't put much stock in things the papers say they've said) by actual facts not someone else's opinions. Maybe they're deliberate malicious liars, or maybe they're too lazy to think about what really happened, or maybe they're trying to be completely honest but they're not very bright... I have no idea, doesn't change the lies though.