Patrick Ball, an actor who is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s top young stars, first burst onto the scene in 2025 with the debut of HBO Max’s emergency room-set drama series The Pitt, on which he plays Dr. Frank Langdon, a senior emergency medicine resident. Langdon works under senior attending physician Dr. “Robby,” who initially regards him as a protégé, but later loses faith in him upon learning that he has been stealing prescription painkillers from the hospital in order to work through a back injury.

The show, which marks a reunion of ER star Noah Wyle, writer R. Scott Gemmill and showrunner John Wells, has found a large and loyal audience, garnered massive critical acclaim and last year, for its first season, was awarded five Emmys including best drama series. This year, for its second season, it has landed a field-leading 25 noms, including, in the category of best supporting actor in a drama series, one for Ball, who the TV Academy egregiously overlooked for his work on season one.

Over the course of a conversation at the LA offices of The Hollywood Reporter, the 36-year-old reflected on his path to acting and the years-long journey of personal and professional ups and downs that preceded him landing The Pitt; how his extensive theater background, professional uncertainty on his first major screen project and own battles with addiction (he’s now four years sober) have informed the way he plays Langdon; why, even while shooting season two and the forthcoming third season of The Pitt, he continued to act in theater in L.A. and in New York on Broadway, respectively; plus more.

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