Wendell Pierce clearly wanted his former Suits co-star Meghan Markle to prepare for life as a royal.
Interviewing Mr. E! In the news released Saturday, the actor reflected on a conversation he had with the current Duchess of Sussex on their final day filming USA Network's long-running legal drama together.
Pearce played Meghan Markle's father on Suits, which aired from 2011 to 2019. Meghan left the show in 2017, the same year she announced she would retire from acting to focus on her royal duties following her engagement to Prince Harry.
“I always think back to the last day I worked with Meghan, which was at her wedding before her engagement to the prince,” Pearce told the magazine. “I said, 'Meghan, your life is going to be hectic. You're going to be in this bubble.'
“The Wire” alum then shared how she offered support to her former co-star.
“'No matter what happens, I want you to remember that you will always have a friend,' he said. 'And I would appreciate it if you could add me to that number.'
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who married in 2018, have since spoken out about their difficult experiences as working royals.
Memorably, the two announced their decision to step down as senior royals in 2020. In the same year, he moved to Los Angeles, Meghan's hometown.
Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry spoke about their experiences as royals in a 2022 Netflix documentary. The Duke of Sussex published his intimate memoir Spare last year, and in 2021, the married duo made unforgettable comments about the royal family in a shocking interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Pierce called out the excitement surrounding the couple's interview with Winfrey in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Quoting Shakespeare, he told Britain's LBC radio at the time that the sit-down conversations were “full of sound and fury and meant nothing.”
“It's completely insensitive and offensive that we're all complicit in this kind of palace…gossip,” he said, as quoted by LBC. “I think that's insignificant when so many people are dying.”
he later Revealed in XPreviously on Twitter, his grievances were with the British monarchy, which he called “outdated”.
“We have failed history if we have not taught that slavery, colonialism and apartheid were racist,” he said.
“I was fortunate enough to be able to say to Meghan that I personally wish her the best,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet. “Anticipating this terrible chaos, I told her that I would always have a friend inside me. Just because I wasn't interested in her interview doesn't change that.”
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