<p id=”par-1_17″>Patrick Ball was on the verge of quitting acting before he landed his role on <em>The Pitt. </em></p>
<p id=”par-2_65″>“About six months before <em>The Pitt</em> came in, I was living in New Haven with my ex,” Ball recently told <a href=”https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2026/04/07/culture-patrick-ball-becky-shaw-the-pitt/”>Cultured</a> magazine. “We’d been together for three years and we were really struggling with coming up with a vision of the future. Working as an actor, you don’t know what’s coming, have no money—the financial outlook can be bleak. I was looking for an off-ramp.”</p>
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<p id=”par-3_64″>At that point, Ball, who studied drama at Yale University, was weighing a serious career shift, including possibly joining the FBI or the Merchant Marines. But after a few more life twists – including a stint doing corporate coaching seminars where he played an employee who had to be fired – he was cast as Dr. Frank Langdon in the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/er-why-noah-wyle-filmed-an-entire-episode-wearing-an-actual-iv.html/”>Noah Wyle medical drama</a>. </p>
<p id=”par-4_11″>The hefty HBO paycheck came as a massive relief, Ball said. </p>
<p id=”par-5_43″>“I paid off my student loans like three months into <em>The Pitt</em>, and that was a really profound moment ‘cause I thought I was gonna die with it. It’s a huge burden to carry, and a lot of people carry it,” he said. </p>
<p id=”par-6_87″>“I was $80,000 in debt and I had been through a series of failed relationships where my financial insecurity was a real problem,” he continued. “I had just thought that was going to be my life forever, and that is a really heavy thing to live with. Paying off those student loans and getting back to zero, I remember being like, Man, if this show works, great. If it doesn’t work, they can’t take that away from me. I am out of debt. No take-backsies on that.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_26″><em>The Pitt </em>Season 2 is currently streaming on HBO Max, with the season finale set for April 16. The show has been <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/the-pitt-season-3-noah-wyle-returning-amid-cast-shakeup.html/”>renewed for season 3</a>. </p>
<p id=”par-8_11″><em>For more news and exclusive interviews, follow </em><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/showbizcheatsheet/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s Instagram</em></a><em>.</em></p>