Patrick Ball wouldn’t be where he’s today without Max‘s popular television show, “The Pitt.” In a brand new interview, the 36-year-old opened up about how his role on the show helped him escape a crushing $80,000 burden.
Patrick Ball Made His Broadway Debut In ‘Becky Shaw’
Ball recently made his Broadway debut as Andrew in “Becky Shaw,” a dark comedy a few bad first date that sets off a domino effect amongst a gaggle of emotionally unstable adults grappling with complex issues.
During his interview with Cultured Magazine, Ball called being within the show “bittersweet,” reflecting on his early days as a theater kid.
“I’m very excited to get my days back and give you the chance to spend time within the park, but being in rehearsal is my favorite place within the universe. It’s something that you just don’t really get in film and tv. The tinkeringness of theater is something that I just absolutely love and I’m sort of sad that it’s gonna be over,” he said.
How Did Patrick Ball Grow to be Involved In ‘Becky Shaw’ On Broadway?
While Ball is playing the role of Andrew, a 31-year-old office manager who hopes to construct a thriving profession as a author, he said he was first drawn to the role of Max, an conceited NYC financial advisor.
“Most of my profession, I can be playing the bull within the china shop—the overtly aggressive a**hole that you just realize will not be an a**hole,” he said.
Nevertheless, after speaking with the show’s director and author, Ball said he saw his character in a unique light.
“Then I spent every week with the play and I got here back, like, ‘Now that I look a bit of bit closer at this Andrew guy, there’s a form of insidious, performative, nice guy thing here that may be very layered and really interesting and something that I actually think I do must speak about straight away,’” he continued.
There’s A Reason Ball Felt Closely Alligned To The Role Of Max
The more time Ball spends with the production, the more he recognizes the deeper complexities throughout the script.
“I didn’t realize how funny the play was from the page, but this whole conversation across the overt aggression versus covert aggression, the belief that this person is a sweetie pie, your best friend, rubs your back and tells you the whole lot you should hear, but is secretly taking up your life and emotionally blackmailing you—that’s an interesting thing to speak about,” he shared.
The aggressive nature of the show is something Ball is acquainted with in real life, he said. “I just genuinely imagine that clarity is kindness, and I attempt to be straightforward with people. As a Scorpio, I’m very aware of individuals’s indirect aggressions, so I like to only be straight up. I’m a reasonably boundaried person and I’ve learned that over my now long lifetime of not writing checks you may’t money,” he added.
How Starring In ‘The Pitt’ Helped Patrick Ball Escape An $80,000 Burden He Thought He’d Live With Endlessly
When Ball isn’t on the stage, he’s playing the role of Dr. Frank Langdon on Max’s medical drama, “The Pitt.”
Elsewhere in his interview with Cultured, the actor got emotional while discussing how his role on the show helped him escape $80,000 in student loan debt.
“I paid off my student loans like three months into The Pitt, and that was a extremely profound moment ‘cause I assumed I used to be gonna die with it,” he told the outlet through tears.
Ball went on to call the debt a “huge burden to hold,” adding that he had been involved in several failed relationships resulting from his financial insecurity.
“I had just thought that was going to be my life without end, and that could be a really heavy thing to live with. 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’ll’t take that away from me. I’m out of debt.’ No take-backsies on that,” he said.
Ball’s tearful confession struck a chord with social media users, one in every of whom noted the actor’s only television role was on “Law & Order” in 2023.
“I’m glad he booked ‘The Pitt’ because he must’ve been STRESSED about those student loans,” they wrote on Reddit.
One other user resonated with the relief of becoming debt-free, noting they’ve seen that very same transformation in family and friends.
“It’s why the emotion of it lingers for therefore long because your body, your nervous system, it’s just by default used to that stress pinching it closed, prefer it’s second nature. It rears its filthy head in some strange ways for awhile. It does take YEARS to return to terms with having made it out from under that debt,” they said.