Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 22

Patrick Ball Lands Emmy Nomination for 'The Pitt' Season 2 as Drama Scores 25 Nods

Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 22

Patrick Ball Lands Emmy Nomination for 'The Pitt' Season 2 as Drama Scores 25 Nods

Q: What terrifying on-set panic attacks almost forced this Broadway veteran to abandon his breakout television role before the cameras even rolled?

Patrick Ball said the fear came in the form of a “series of panic attacks” after he landed *The Pitt*—especially when he first stepped onto the Warner Bros. lot for his first major TV job. The Broadway veteran, who had spent about 15 years working almost exclusively in theater, described being overwhelmed by the scale and history of the production before filming really settled into routine. He recalled seeing plaques on the soundstages noting classics such as *On the Waterfront* and *Giant*, which intensified the pressure of the moment. Ball said it took about three weeks before he could “breathe.” The panic was tied not to the role itself, but to the shock of finally getting his first big television break after years of uncertainty and stage work. Once that initial period passed, he said, the lot simply became “the place that you work.” So the frightening episodes were not character-related on-set incidents, but severe early anxiety attacks triggered by the enormity of joining a major HBO Max series and walking into a legendary studio environment for the first time.

3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 22

Patrick Ball earned a best supporting actor in a drama series Emmy nomination for playing Dr. Frank Langdon in season two of HBO Max's "The Pitt."
25 nominations made "The Pitt" this year's field leader, building on season one, which won five Emmys including best drama series.
Ball, 36, plays a senior emergency medicine resident whose mentor loses faith in him after discovering he stole prescription painkillers to work through a back injury.
Four years sober, Ball said his own battles with addiction, along with his theater background and early screen-career uncertainty, helped shape the role as the series moves into a third season.