‘The Pitt’ star thought he’d ‘die’ with $80K in student debt—he was working 3 jobs, ready to ditch acting and move to the Alaskan wilderness

Patrick Ball may play senior resident Dr. Frank Langdon on The Pitt, the hit HBO medical drama, but off-screen, his financial reality looked nothing like his character’s steady climb toward a six-figure salary. Before his breakout role, Ball came close to walking away from acting altogether—overwhelmed by student loan debt he feared would follow him for life.

“I paid off my student loans like three months into The Pitt, and that was a really profound moment ‘cause I thought I was gonna die with it,” Ball recently told Cultured, reportedly tearing up. 

“It’s a huge burden to carry, and a lot of people carry it. I was $80,000 in debt and I had been through a series of failed relationships where my financial insecurity was a real problem. I had just thought that was going to be my life forever, and that is a really heavy thing to live with.”

Ball grew up in North Carolina and briefly attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, majoring in journalism. He ultimately dropped out to pursue a career in acting, spending five years on the road doing regional theatre. Later, he enrolled at the Yale School of Drama—where he accrued........

© Fortune