10 Best ‘Suits’ Villains, Ranked

Taking Netflix by storm in 2023, the legal drama series Suits spent its debut on the streamer breaking records. The series originally aired on the USA Network from 2011 to 2019 but found a new life on Netflix with a whole new audience. Created by Aaron Korsh, Suits takes viewers inside a fictional New York City law firm where the city’s best closer, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), has just hired Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a college dropout with a brilliant memory who pretends to be a Harvard Law graduate. The series co-starred Gina Torres, Meghan Markle, Rick Hoffman, and Sarah Rafferty.

Throughout the nine seasons, some of the best TV lawyers faced off with some of the baddest villains inside and outside the courtroom. From competing law firms to spurned attorneys from the past, Harvey, Mike, and the rest of the team found their backs against the wall more than once. The best villains in Suits gave the audiences’ favorite heroes a run for their money when the stakes were high. But as the famous Harvey Specter said, “When you’re backed against the wall, break the goddamn thing down.”

10 David Fox

Played by David Alpay

With only a brief set of appearances during the eighth season, David Fox presented a unique challenge to the fan and series favorite Donna (Sarah Rafferty). David was the real estate developer and building owner responsible for the lease agreements. Managing to trick Donna, David attempted to evict the firm after Harvey and Louis (Rick Hoffman) dissolved Pearson Specter Litt in order to restructure it into Specter Litt. With the help of Rachel (Meghan Markle) and in true Donna fashion, she persuades David to renew their lease at their original discounted rate.

While David Fox was not the most aggressive adversary to the firm, he provided Donna with her first real test to see if she could handle her newfound responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer with her “seat at the table.” David was one of the few characters in the entire series that forced Donna to think outside the box in order to win.

9 Eric Kaldor

Played by Jeffrey Nordling

A named partner at the competing firm Rand, Kaldor, & Zane, Eric Kaldor became the face of an attempted firm takeover in the later seasons. Following Jessica Pearson’s (Gina Torres) disbarment and the firm’s restructuring into Specter Litt, Eric’s firm conspired to force the other Specter Litt partners to use their voting power to allow Rand, Kaldor, & Zane to buy the firm, ousting Harvey and Louis, and targeting the removal of Robert Zane from their respective seats of authority. Robert joined Harvey and Louis, bringing a set of clients and associates with him, inherently foiling Eric’s plan.

Eric appeared in additional episodes, posing as an adversary for Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl), a former associate who followed Robert. With dirt on Samantha in more ways than one, Eric’s professional attacks on Samantha forced a character arc as she learned that Harvey and the rest of the team would do whatever it took to protect her like family. Eric’s villainous role served as a humbling opportunity for Harvey in the later seasons when it was crucial for the firm to pick and choose which battles to “lose.”

8 Travis Tanner

Played by Eric Close

A thorn in Harvey’s side, Travis Tanner served as the stereotypical, smooth-talking lawyer with unethical means to winning a suit. Travis faced off several times against Harvey and Mike, always managing to get under someone’s skin with snide, below-the-belt comments. Harvey even threw a punch during their heated exchanges. He never managed to beat Harvey or the firm but always kept them guessing. In one of his cases, his settlement terms included Harvey’s disbarment.

Travis always appeared as a formidable opposing counsel, going after any lawyer or friend of Harvey’s that got in the way of his ultimate goal. However, in the end, Tanner attempted to re-brand himself as an honest, trustworthy attorney in the last episode he appeared in.

7 Stephen Huntley

Played by Max Beesley

Following the firm’s merger and renaming to Pearson Darby (and eventually Pearson Darby Specter), Stephen Huntley made his entrance, swooning Donna. Stephen posed as a villain not only to the firm, as it would be later revealed, but also as a villain in Harvey and Donna’s relationship. Sharing similar traits and legal tactics, Harvey and Stephen would get along for the sake of Donna, but much to Harvey’s dismay.

During the firm’s biggest case in season three, the client, Ava Hessington (Michelle Fairley), was put on trial for ordering killings related to her oil business. Once revealed that Stephen was responsible for giving the order, Harvey cut a deal with the prosecutor, Cameron Dennis (Gary Cole), to put Stephen on trial instead. Not only a series despised villain for the murders, Stephen remained a villain in the audience’s eyes for the pain he put Donna through.

6 Thomas Bratton

Played by Al Sapienza

Orchestrating one of the biggest conspiracies Mike and the team would uncover, Thomas “Tommy” Bratton earned his spot as one of the series’ best antagonists. A named partner at the competing firm of Bratton Gould, Tommy was the main foe of attorney Alex Williams (Dulé Hill). Tommy represented Masterson Construction and Reform Corp., two companies that built prisons and extorted prison workers. On behalf of his clients, he covered up a prisoner’s death, manipulating and implicating Alex into taking the fall if anyone ever reported the crimes.

Once Alex joined Pearson Specter Litt, he turned the tables on Tommy, forcing him out of his own firm. Tommy would take one final revenge shot at Alex and the firm when he filed a collusion lawsuit between Robert’s firm and theirs. The series killed off Tommy with a heart attack, dropping the lawsuit. While his time was brief over the seasons, Tommy’s villainous role provided the characters of 2023’s hottest streaming series with another opportunity to band together during a time of fracture.

5 Andrew Malik

Played by Usman Ally

A ghost from Harvey’s past in the District Attorney’s office, Andrew Malik, challenged Harvey’s abilities as a lawyer for the sole purpose of proving he was better and not corrupt. He makes his first appearance after Mike takes a case that Andrew is investigating, unaware of the connection. Andrew truly solidified his place as one of the best villains after he attempted to go after Donna by cross-examining her in open court. Losing to Harvey and Mike multiple times, Andrew came back stronger and more tactful each time, seeking revenge with the ultimate goal of taking Harvey down.

He delivered a huge blow to the firm by getting Jessica Pearson disbarred after she openly admitted knowing Mike was a fraud. Jessica’s downfall would lead to her spin-off series. However, audiences would see karma circle back to Andrew as he tried to take Harvey and, this time, Sean Cahill (Neal McDonough), down. The pair ultimately got Andrew arrested for fabricating evidence and acting on behalf of a much larger scheme for the best Suits villain.

4 Faye Richardson

Played by Denise Crosby

The series’ final villain, Faye Richardson, provided the firm with one last challenge that ultimately decided the fate of every character in the finale. Following Robert Zane’s disbarment, the New York State Bar appointed Faye as Special Master and eventually acting managing partner of Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams. Her first order of business was to remove Robert’s name from the firm. Operating under a righteous and ethical mindset, Faye enforced strict rules to keep Harvey and the team from crossing lines—a tough sell to a group of lawyers who thrived on crossing lines for the right reasons.

Faye would fire Samantha Wheeler for fabricating evidence, which set multiple plans in motion to get Faye ousted, forcing the team to assess what was most important to them in this predicament. She butted heads with just about every character at the firm and eventually agreed to leave after Harvey offered a trade—he’d leave the firm if she did. The agreement took the series right up to the last episode, where Harvey agreed to join Mike and Rachel in Seattle.

3 Anita Gibbs

Played by Leslie Hope

Of all the characters throughout the seasons who suspected Mike Ross was a fraud, Anita Gibbs was the only one who came close to proving it in a court of law. A lawyer from the U.S. Attorney’s office, Anita investigated and served as the prosecutor in Mike’s case on charges of practicing law without a license. Instead of waiting for the jury to bring back the ultimate not-guilty verdict, Mike took Anita’s deal for prison time in exchange for her leaving Harvey and the rest of the firm alone.

Anita also attempted to stand in the way of Mike getting his law license after prison. She served on the review board and ultimately changed her mind after some persuading arguments from Jessica Pearson. Anita’s role was the catalyst the series needed in order to shake things up. For multiple seasons, audiences believed Mike and Harvey would get away with the ruse, but not after Anita stepped in.

2 Daniel Hardman

Played by David Costabile

The co-founder of the original firm and its name, Pearson Hardman, Daniel Hardman was one of the series’ most chilling villains. His appearance didn’t arrive until season two following his wife’s death; it was then audiences learned the full story of his ousting from the firm. Every move Daniel made throughout the series was an attempt to regain control and his place. His vendetta against Jessica and Harvey was to see them go down for taking everything away from him.

A scary good attorney, manipulator, and behind-the-scenes mastermind, Daniel posed himself as an ultimate threat to the firm, smelling the metaphorical blood every time they were in trouble. Daniel had his hands in one way or another in every conflict the firm faced over eight seasons. Thanks to a masterful performance by David Costabile, Daniel was a character audiences despised just as much as the characters did in one of the best legal dramas on Netflix.

1 Charles Forstman

Played by Eric Roberts

The best Suits villain comes down to this businessman billionaire. The relationship between Harvey and Charles Forstman began way back before Harvey was hired by Jessica. Having an abundance of resources and an eye for business deals, many of the series’ characters went to Charles for help, but it always came at the expense of being implicated in some crime Charles had already committed or planned to commit.

Charles had his hands and ventures in many of the behind-the-scenes business dealings of the cases Harvey and Mike worked on, making him the ultimate villain to take down. It would come down to Harvey, Mike, Sean Cahill, a handful of other characters, and the FBI to take Charles down and get him behind bars. His dealings with Andrew Malik and Andrew’s ultimate arrest would extend his prison sentence, earning Harvey one of the most satisfying mic-drop moments of the entire series.

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