Patrick Ball breaks down in tears as he reveals how his role in The Pit helped him pay off his university debt.
Ball, who plays Dr. Frank Langdon on the acclaimed HBO show, said he paid off $80,000 in student loans within three months of working on the series.
“That was a really profound moment, because I thought I was going to die from this,” he told Cultured magazine in an interview published Tuesday. “That’s a huge burden to carry, and a lot of people are carrying it.”
The actor, who attended both the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Yale School of Drama, said financial insecurity was a major issue in his past failed relationships.
“I thought this would be my life forever, but it’s really heavy to live with,” he said. “When I paid off my student loans and went back to zero, I remember thinking, ‘Hey, if this show does well, great. If it doesn’t, they can’t take it away from me.'” I have no debt. There is no retraction on that. ”
Ball said he was seriously considering quitting acting six months before landing the role in “The Pit” because he was suffering so much financially.
“I was looking for a way out,” he admitted.
Ball, 36, recalled working odd jobs in New York, including four jobs.
“I worked in coffee shops, I worked in restaurants, I worked as a wardrobe assistant on ‘And Just Like That,’ I gave corporate coaching seminars,” he said.
“I was in a seminar that took me to BlackRock, Blackstone, and Goldman Sachs, and they wanted to teach young managers how to have difficult conversations: how to fire someone,” he continued. “They brought me in as an actor so administrators could practice firing someone.”
“The Pit,” which won the SAG Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series this year, was a huge hit for HBO.
The medical drama stars “ER” alum Noah Wyle. The actor made a rare appearance at the Season 2 premiere of The Pit in January with his wife Sarah and their two children, Auden, 20, and Owen, 23.
