ON THE CASE

Stephen Amell on Suits L.A., his Canadian roots and the sports dream that got away

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He might have found his calling in Hollywood, but Toronto native Stephen Amell didn't always have dreams of becoming an actor. “I wanted to play for the Blue Jays!” the longtime baseball fan, 43, tells us of his childhood fantasy, adding that he “didn’t properly get into acting” until he was in his late 20s. “I was a little bit late [to the game],” admits Stephen, who was 31 when he landed his breakout role in Arrow – the fan-favourite action show that he led from 2012 to 2020.

Now, five years after its final episode, the star has traded his superhero costume for a closet full of business clothes as he steps into the shoes of entertainment lawyer Ted Black, the main character in the spinoff series Suits L.A.

Here, he chats with Hello! Canada about living up to the original drama (which famously starred Meghan Markle before she wed Prince Harry) and shares why he was keen to film in Los Angeles, where he lives with his actress wife, Cassandra Jean, and their kids, daughter Maverick, 11, and two-year-old son Bowen.