Gabriel Macht Is Getting 'Creative' with a New Venture — and It's a Departure fromSuits' Harvey Specter (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Gabriel Macht attends the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 07, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.Photo:Monica Schipper/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty

Monica Schipper/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty

Gabriel Machtis expanding his resumé — and he wants to help you celebrate your every day wins while he’s at it.TheSuitsalum, 53, is now both a creative partner and equity shareholder in Bear Fight Whiskey, a move that came while he’s been “taking a long break from working as an actor” following his eight-year stint asHarvey Specter.“I’ve done some commercial work as a brand ambassador, but I wanted to be a partner in a company that made sense,” he tells PEOPLE.Still, it was hard not to think of the beloved Pearson Hardman lawyer he’s known for playing — who has an innate association with whiskey, too — when he was coming onboard.“Harvey — he’s really a Macallan guy, but I’m not a Macallan guy. I’m a Bear Fight guy,” Macht says.“I’m the guy that’s just looking for something that tastes great, that’s affordable, is approachable,” he continues. “And I said, if we’re going to do this, I really don’t want to make this about Harvey. It’s not top shelf… It’s an everyman drink. I’m more of an everyman than I am Harvey.“Gabriel Macht for Bear Fight Whiskey.courtesy of Crowe PRMacht has been having “loads of fun” exploring a whole new “world” in marketing and advertising as part of his involvement with the brand. He shares, “It’s been very creative for me. It’s been great.“He’s just taken his latest new step, too, as the face of Bear Fight’s first-ever ad campaign. The series of hilarious ad spots — “I mean, I think it’s hilarious, but I’m biased,” Macht says — bring to life the whiskey’s overarching story.“It’s like, everyone’s got a bear fight. Everyone has a challenge that they probably want to deny and/or go away from. Or, you can sort of lean into it and take a risk and go for it and see if you can possibly conquer whatever it is,” he explains. The whiskey, then, is “a way to celebrate these little bear fights along the day” — and that they’ve been conquered.It helps, too, that he’s an honest fan of the drink. “When I got it, I was like, ‘Oh, s—. This is great.’ So I can get behind it,” he says, adding that he drinks “responsibly.“His wifeJacinda Barrettis on board, too. “She’s not a whiskey drinker, but when I make a cocktail and she has a little taste, she’s like, ‘Oh, this is pretty good,'” he says.There’s one other fun family connection involved, he shares, “My great-grandfather used to drink whiskey, my father tells me. He’s my namesake. So that was cool [to learn].“Gabriel Macht for Bear Fight whiskey’s first-ever ad campaign.courtesy of Crowe PRNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Despite his self-imposed “break” from acting — and his eagerness to separate this latest venture from hisSuitscharacter — Macht will soon return to viewers’ screens as Harvey Specter in theupcoming spinoff,Suits L.A.“I had very little interest in coming back to work as an actor right now, because I spent so much time [doing it] and this was my time to really raise my kids and to do this creative stuff, like Bear Fight,” he reveals.What convinced him, though, was that filming could make “sense” for his family while also enabling him to “sort of pass the baton toStephen [Amell]and the cast in L.A.“Plus, he teases, “We’re trying to figure out how to incorporate Bear Fight into [an episode].”

Gabriel Machtis expanding his resumé — and he wants to help you celebrate your every day wins while he’s at it.

TheSuitsalum, 53, is now both a creative partner and equity shareholder in Bear Fight Whiskey, a move that came while he’s been “taking a long break from working as an actor” following his eight-year stint asHarvey Specter.

“I’ve done some commercial work as a brand ambassador, but I wanted to be a partner in a company that made sense,” he tells PEOPLE.

Still, it was hard not to think of the beloved Pearson Hardman lawyer he’s known for playing — who has an innate association with whiskey, too — when he was coming onboard.

“Harvey — he’s really a Macallan guy, but I’m not a Macallan guy. I’m a Bear Fight guy,” Macht says.

“I’m the guy that’s just looking for something that tastes great, that’s affordable, is approachable,” he continues. “And I said, if we’re going to do this, I really don’t want to make this about Harvey. It’s not top shelf… It’s an everyman drink. I’m more of an everyman than I am Harvey.”

Gabriel Macht for Bear Fight Whiskey.courtesy of Crowe PR

courtesy of Crowe PR

Macht has been having “loads of fun” exploring a whole new “world” in marketing and advertising as part of his involvement with the brand. He shares, “It’s been very creative for me. It’s been great.”

He’s just taken his latest new step, too, as the face of Bear Fight’s first-ever ad campaign. The series of hilarious ad spots — “I mean, I think it’s hilarious, but I’m biased,” Macht says — bring to life the whiskey’s overarching story.

“It’s like, everyone’s got a bear fight. Everyone has a challenge that they probably want to deny and/or go away from. Or, you can sort of lean into it and take a risk and go for it and see if you can possibly conquer whatever it is,” he explains. The whiskey, then, is “a way to celebrate these little bear fights along the day” — and that they’ve been conquered.

It helps, too, that he’s an honest fan of the drink. “When I got it, I was like, ‘Oh, s—. This is great.’ So I can get behind it,” he says, adding that he drinks “responsibly.”

His wifeJacinda Barrettis on board, too. “She’s not a whiskey drinker, but when I make a cocktail and she has a little taste, she’s like, ‘Oh, this is pretty good,'” he says.

There’s one other fun family connection involved, he shares, “My great-grandfather used to drink whiskey, my father tells me. He’s my namesake. So that was cool [to learn].”

Gabriel Macht for Bear Fight whiskey’s first-ever ad campaign.courtesy of Crowe PR

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Despite his self-imposed “break” from acting — and his eagerness to separate this latest venture from hisSuitscharacter — Macht will soon return to viewers’ screens as Harvey Specter in theupcoming spinoff,Suits L.A.

“I had very little interest in coming back to work as an actor right now, because I spent so much time [doing it] and this was my time to really raise my kids and to do this creative stuff, like Bear Fight,” he reveals.

What convinced him, though, was that filming could make “sense” for his family while also enabling him to “sort of pass the baton toStephen [Amell]and the cast in L.A.”

Plus, he teases, “We’re trying to figure out how to incorporate Bear Fight into [an episode].”

source: people.com