Tim Matheson felt Meghan Markle had a certain “sparkle” before she became the Duchess of Sussex.
In 2011, the “Animal House” actor directed the former Hollywood actress on an episode of her legal drama “Suits.” The 76-year-old has written a memoir about his career titled “Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches.”
Matheson told Fox News Digital that he, along with the rest of the world, was surprised when Buckingham Palace announced Markle’s engagement to Britain’s Prince Harry in 2017.
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Patrick J. Adams as Michael Ross and Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane in the legal drama “Suits.” (Nigel Parry/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“It was odd because she was engaged to somebody else [when I met her],” Matheson explained. “My first thought, being an actor, was, ‘She’s going to quit acting.’ It was a bold move on her part, especially marrying into the royal family. I just thought, ‘That’s a miniseries.’ I mean, come on!”
Before the British prince, Markle, 43, was married to film producer Trevor Engelson from 2011 to 2014. Her final appearance in “Suits” was in the season 7 finale. It aired less than a month before she and Harry, 40, tied the knot in 2018.
Before Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was married to Trevor Engelson from 2011 to 2014. (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
Matheson described Markle as “lovely” on set and felt she had her future set in Tinseltown.
Tim Matheson’s memoir, “Damn Glad to Meet You,” is out now. (Hachette Books)
“She was quite beautiful and a good actor,” he said. “As a director, you come in and have this cast of characters. There were six or seven of them. I remember we all went out to an early dinner once, so I got to know them a little bit off of the set. She was just lovely. The entire cast was wonderful, but especially her, there was just something about her. There was a sparkle, a little sparkle in her eye.”
“It was odd because she was engaged to somebody else [when I met her]… My first thought, being an actor, was, ‘She’s going to quit acting.’ It was a bold move on her part, especially marrying into the royal family. I just thought, ‘That’s a miniseries.’ I mean, come on!”
In 2011, Tim Matheson directed an episode of “Suits.” (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
“I just remember her being a very good actor,” Matheson shared. “I never had to worry about a scene she was going to be in. I knew that she’d bring a performance that was just right. If I had to tweak anything, she’d jump right in and do it. I really enjoyed working with her, and it was a fun show to do.”
But a happily ever after in the U.K. wasn’t meant to be for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex married on May 19, 2018. Many of Meghan Markle’s “Suits” co-stars were invited to the wedding. (Ben STANSALL – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Harry has had a strained relationship with his family since he and his wife quit royal duties in 2020. At the time, the couple said the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British press were what prompted them to step back as senior royals.
The father of two has since detailed his rocky relationship with his family in TV interviews, a documentary and his memoir. The couple has also aired grievances against the monarchy in interviews and their Netflix docuseries.
“I find it refreshing that she’s as candid and honest about her experience – both of them are,” said Matheson. “I think we’re all curious about their transition to a more normal life outside the royal family.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave a televised interview to Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. (Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions via AP)
“I don’t know what to believe about how accepted she was by the royal family,” he admitted. “I’m sure there’s a whole other side of things that I have no knowledge of. But I thought they did a pretty good job. They didn’t go off the rails. They didn’t tell backstage stories. It was almost a no-win situation. But I thought they handled things extremely well.”
Since the couple departed from royal duties, those who’ve worked with Markle have shared some of their experiences working with her.
Back in 2023, “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about the show’s resurgence on Netflix. At the time, he described how the royals gave their two cents on what the future duchess could and couldn’t say in the series.
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Meghan Markle gave up her acting career in 2018. (Ian Watson/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“[The royal family] weighed in on some stuff,” said Korsh without naming anyone. “Not many things, by the way, but a few things that we wanted to do and couldn’t do, and it was a little irritating. I remember one was a particular line of dialogue.
“My wife’s family, when they have a topic to discuss that might be sensitive, they use the word ‘poppycock.’ Let’s say you wanted to do something that you knew your husband didn’t want to do, but you wanted to at least discuss it, and in just discussing it, you wouldn’t hold him to anything he said, you’d be like, ‘It’s poppycock.’
According to “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh, the palace didn’t want Meghan Markle to be filmed saying “poppycock.” (Ben Mark Holzberg/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“So, in the episode, Mike [Patrick J. Adams] and Rachel [Markle] were going to have a thing, and as a nod to my in-laws, we were going to have her say, ‘My family would say poppycock.’ And the royal family did not want her saying the word. They didn’t want to put the word ‘poppycock’ in her mouth.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
“I presume it’s because they didn’t want people cutting things together of her saying ‘cock,’” Korsh revealed. “So, we had to change it to ‘bulls–t’ instead of ‘poppycock,’ and I did not like it because I’d told my in-laws that [poppycock] was going to be in the show. There were maybe one or two more things, but I can’t remember.”
At the time, representatives for Buckingham Palace and Markle did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Korsh shared that he wasn’t privy to how the family got the scripts, saying, “I don’t know how they got them. I was aware that they were reading them because I got the feedback, but I don’t remember the process by which they got them.”
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are seen at the Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace on Nov. 27, 2017, in London after their engagement. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)
He also couldn’t remember who delivered the bad news to him about the kibosh on “poppycock,” but he knew it wasn’t Markle.
“Whoever it was, they didn’t like having to tell me any more than I liked having to hear it. But listen, when they explained it that way, and I’m pretty sure it got explained to me that it was about that [splicing potential], I had some sympathy because I wouldn’t want somebody doing that to her either. And the thing is, I didn’t think anybody really would, but also, I don’t know. People are crazy.”
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Markle began dating Harry in 2016 while she was still acting on the show. Korsh chose to share the royal family’s influence only because he believed Harry had already spoken about it in his explosive memoir, “Spare.”
Prince Harry’s memoir, “Spare,” was published in January 2023. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Harry did write about his family’s impact on Markle’s career, writing in his book, “Meg packed up her house, gave up her role in ‘Suits.’ After seven seasons. A difficult moment for her, because she loved that show, loved the character she was playing, loved her cast and crew — loved Canada.
“On the other hand, life there had become untenable. Especially 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.”
Since stepping away from their duties as senior royals, there’s been speculation about the couple’s next move, whether it be in or out of Hollywood.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in California with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. (Gotham/WireImage/Getty Images)
A former executive producer of “Suits” admitted that getting Markle to reunite with the show’s cast would be challenging.
“I would assume that’s just not possible,” Gene Klein told TV Line.
Fox News Digital’s Caroline Thayer and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
