.png?h=1f210064)
Before she became Katrina Bennett on Suits, Amanda Schull auditioned to play Rachel Zane.
On Sunday, the 45-year-old actress sat down with ET’s Cassie DiLaura at the ATX TV festival and revealed that when she first auditioned for the USA Network show, she had hoped to portray the character who would eventually be played by Meghan Markle.
“I auditioned for the pilot, I auditioned for the role of Rachel Zane, and then following that, I auditioned for every single female guest star they had on the show,” she told ET, explaining how badly she wanted to join the series. “That is not an exaggeration.”
According to the actress — whose character is just as persistent as she is in real life — it took her more than a dozen times of auditioning for Suits before she finally got the call that she had been waiting (not so patiently) for. She tells ET she studied the episodes and characters until the right one finally came around.
Amanda Schull as Katrina Bennett in ‘Suits’ – NBCUniversal via Getty Images
“So when the opportunity came around for the role of Katrina, I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I say that they suggested that the role was written for me because they had seen me so many times that they knew,” Schull said, jokingly adding, “and I still had to audition for it and I almost didn’t get the job.”
Katrina was a match made in heaven for the tenacious One Tree Hill alum. Her character, originally an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, first appears in season two when she leverages her help on a case with Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) for a senior associate job. Katrina — thorough, calculating and cutthroat — quickly becomes a favorite of Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman).
After some serious ups and downs in between season 2 and season 9, Katrina’s loyalty to Louis pays off and she is finally promoted to senior partner, changing the firm’s name to Litt Williams Wheeler Bennett.
Looking back, Schull says a part of her knew those other roles — Rachel Zane, namely — weren’t right for her and that the job she got was the one she was meant for. Fans would certainly agree as many have said it would be hard to picture her as anyone else but Katrina.
Amanda Schull as Katrina Bennett and Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane in ‘Suits’ – NBCUniversal via Getty Images
“It doesn’t make sense, right?” Schull told ET of the role, which of course, went to the Duchess of Sussex, 42. However, Markle famously left the series in season 7 due to her blossoming romance with Prince Harry, whom she married in May 2018.
During the sit-down conversation — which she did alongside co-stars Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty and Dulé Hill — Schull also expressed interest in the possibility of reprising her role in a future spinoff show or movie, potentially focused on the gang of the newly-renamed NYC law firm.
“Let’s start a petition, let’s start a petition,” she said excitedly.
“Honestly, I think it wouldn’t surprise me if they did a model where you end up having some type of film,” Hill — who played season 7 addition Alex Williams — told ET.
Amanda Schull as Katrina Bennett and Rick Hoffman as Louis Litt in ‘Suits’ – NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Rafferty — whose character Donna Paulsen ended up as the firm’s CEO — said the whole cast would “have so much fun.”
Adams, the pragmatist of the group, said that he foresees a film or follow-up of some kind, but is giving the show’s creator, Aaron Korsh, some time to get his other spinoff, Suits: LA, up and running.
“I don’t want to speak for Aaron, but the motivation for him is always story, and if he sits there and he comes up with something that really excited him — whether it be with these characters or new characters like Suits: LA — then when he gets energized about something, something great happens,” Adams said. “So I know from him that he’s excited about the idea of some sort of film format for us, but, you know, I think his main job is getting Suits: LA off the ground at the moment.”
RELATED CONTENT: