Patrick Ball broke down in tears while revealing how his role on “The Pitt” paid off his college debt.
Ball — who plays Dr. Frank Langdon on the critically acclaimed HBO show — said that he paid off his student loans totaling $80,000 three months into working on the series.
“That was a really profound moment ‘cause I thought I was gonna die with it,” he told Cultured magazine in an interview published Tuesday. “It’s a huge burden to carry, and a lot of people carry it.”
The actor — who attended both the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Yale School of Drama — said his financial insecurity was a big problem for him in his past failed relationships.
“I had just thought that was going to be my life forever, and that is a really heavy thing to live with,” he shared. “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.”
Ball said he was seriously considering quitting acting six months before he landed the role on “The Pitt” because he was struggling so bad financially.
“I was looking for an off-ramp,” he admitted.
Ball, 36, recalled the odd jobs he had, which included working four jobs in New York.
“I was working at a coffee shop, I was working at a restaurant, I was working as a wardrobe assistant for ‘And Just Like That,’ I was doing these corporate coaching seminars,” he said.
“I was doing these seminars where they’d bring me into Blackrock and Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, and they would want to teach these young administrators how to have difficult conversations, à la how to fire somebody,” he continued. “They would bring me in as an actor so that these administrators could get practice firing someone. “
“The Pitt” — which won a SAG Actor Award in the outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series category this year — has been a huge hit for HBO.
The medical drama is led by “ER” alum Noah Wyle. The actor made a rare appearance with his wife, Sara, and their two children — Auden, 20, and Owen, 23 — at “The Pitt” season 2 premiere in January.
