Patrick Ball on Dr. Frank Langdon’s Downfall in The Pitt on MAX | Character Deep Dive & More

[00:00:10] Patrick, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged. Hey, thanks for having me. First off, congrats. I'm hooked on the series. My wife was hooked on the series. It's like we can't wait every week to keep watching this. Hey, thanks, man. Thanks, man. It's cool. It's cool seeing the response. You've had a fascinating career, my friend. You know, what drew you to The Pitt and the character of Dr. Langdon? What drew me to it? Employment. Employment.

[00:00:36] I was on the board. No, but honestly, it's a freaking miracle, man, because I had done one episode of Law & Order before this. I would have taken literally any job. I would have been on some vampire show had they asked me to be on. But it's such a miracle that the show that I ended up on is this show. You know, I'm sure you've heard me talk about it before, but both my parents are emergency workers.

[00:01:02] My mom's a lifelong ER nurse. My dad's a paramedic. And here I am after, you know, 12 years of pounding the pavement. I'm put in a position to tell the story of my parents. And so it's just like it's it's awesome, dude. Did you did you feel a lot of pressure to try to prepare for a character like this, you know, technically, emotionally?

[00:01:25] Yeah, I mean, there was a there was definitely a lot of pressure, you know, first time you step on to the Warner Brothers lot and you walk between those sound stages and you see, you know. You see the plaque on the wall, it's like, oh, you know, Rebel Without a Cause was shot on this stage and like Streetcar Named Desire was shot on this stage. It's like make your head spin. But, you know, luckily, like we had a lot of help. We had a lot of doctors on set.

[00:01:54] We had a lot of medical directors and med techs that that really made sure that we were well prepared. And so, yeah, it after after two, three weeks, it just felt like showing up to work. So how about Dr. Langdon's arc? Would you, you know, throughout the series, you know, you see the dramatic turn he goes through. Was it a surprise for you, like when you're reading the scripts or do you know for ahead of time this was coming?

[00:02:19] I knew fairly early that the big blow up in episode 10 was going to happen, that I was going to get fired for drugs. But I didn't know anything that happened before that. So I knew that that was going to happen in 10 and then we would get episodes one at a time. So we'd be shooting episode two and then, you know, we'd be waiting on episode three.

[00:02:43] And I had no idea exactly what the road to that that fall off the cliff was going to be. Yeah. But it made it it made it really, really fun because, you know, you can't get too tricky. You can't try to start playing 3D chess. You just got to do what you're doing. I like how, you know, like, you know, you're like Dr. Robbie's second person to come in and the whole ER and everything, you know, like, how did you balance playing somebody so respected?

[00:03:10] But at the same time, you know, he's got the struggles happening also. I think that's not that uncommon. You know, I think there's a I think there's a lot of people that we know. I think, you know, of the addicts that I know, there's a lot of people that are, you know, quite high functioning and quite, you know, workaholic and, you know, are very, very driven people. And so I think I think those things kind of go hand in hand.

[00:03:38] They're kind of two sides of the same coin for him, I think. How about that scene when you and Dr. Robbie, when he calls you out on what's happening and everything? Tell us about that about that scene with you, too. Yeah, I mean, it was amazing. It was the scene that I knew was coming the whole time and was sort of like looming over my head the whole time. And, you know, really, you know, big, big, scary scene. Better not mess it up. And then and then and then we get there and it was amazing.

[00:04:07] Like, you know, we had a fight choreographer on set because we both had this in our mind that this was going to, you know, get really violent and sort of out of control. And then yeah, out there on the day and you just kind of look at each other and it was more just like it felt like a breakup scene. It felt more sad than anything. And and.

[00:04:30] And yeah, no, I mean, we both just sort of went with what was happening and it was yeah, it was great. Noah's Noah's an incredible scene partner. So episode 11, you know, shows, you know, the aftermath of the firing. You know, we see the ER staff, you know, really from all this. Like, how do you think now that actions impacts the team going forward? Yeah, well, I didn't I didn't ever get episode 11, so I didn't know what happened. So I watched it.

[00:04:59] I was like, man, this episode is a amazing and B, they that team is completely screwed because now like now Collins is leaving. Now, you know, Dana is talking about leaving and already, you know, there we were short staffed before. Or even with me, you're short staffed and barely, barely keeping our heads above water.

[00:05:23] So if you yeah, if you take, you know, one person off the team, it really, really causes a lot of problems for everybody. So I thought that I thought that was very present in episode 11. What's been the fan reaction with all this? Because like for what I've been reading it on the forums and everything, they want to see you back. Are we hoping we're going to see you in the future? What's happening? I sure hope so. I sure hope so. I want to keep my job.

[00:05:51] But no, the fan reaction has been amazing. It's been amazing. It's been really cool to see how many people, you know, want to see me back, which has been great. And it's also been really cool to see the discourse that is fired off between, you know, between the Langdon Santos sort of rivalry. I think, I think there's been just some like really fruitful, intelligent conversation around that.

[00:06:16] About like, yeah, there, this world does not consist of good guys and bad guys. You know, there's a complex conversation to be had. Two things can be true. Langdon is really good at his job. And Langdon's a drug addict. Santos is kind of a pain in the ass. And she was also right. And both of these things can be true. And that's just, that's good storytelling.

[00:06:46] Well, Dr. Santos is the one that, you know, raises suspicion, suspicious about like your character. What was he going through? Like, how do you think like she feels about stepping forward with all this? How does she feel about it? Yeah. You know, I can, I can, you know, zoom out. You know, as Langdon, I would say, I think she probably is pretty stoked about it. She wanted to, you know, she was gunning for me since the second she stepped through the door.

[00:07:13] But like, just step back from it. You know, I'm sure it was not easy for her to do. You know, she's there on her first day of work. She doesn't want trouble. She is trying to do the best job that she can. And that includes if you see somebody on the team who is using drugs and putting patients at risk, it is your responsibility to report that.

[00:07:38] And that's a really difficult thing to do for somebody that is a little more junior and is, you know, just showing up in a brand new workspace with full of history and relationships. And she's going after a very beloved character. And so that's not hard to, that's not easy to do. Looking at his arc, do you see him as a villain, a tragic figure, somewhere in between? Where do you see him?

[00:08:08] You know, I don't, I don't, I don't, again, I don't think that this world is composed of villains and heroes. It's composed of people that are doing their best. You know, and I think that's who he is. He's somebody that's doing his best. And I think he carries a lot of responsibility. And I think he tries to show up for other people all day long.

[00:08:37] And he struggles to show up for himself. And I think that I know a few people like that in my own life. So I'm stoked to be trying to tell their story. Right. What's been your favorite moment playing this character? Is there a certain scene or just? Oh, man. It's hard to say there's a favorite moment.

[00:08:59] But as time went on, so like whenever the episodes started coming out, you know, I started, you know, sitting down with my friends and watching episodes one and two and three and being like, oh, man.

[00:09:12] I used to have so much fun back at the beginning of the season before any because at because now I've gone through my fall from grace and like, like, you know, Langdon is really radically humbled over the course of this season. And so, you know, that is the last taste in my mouth from this season. But then you go back and you watch the early episodes before any of that happened. I was like, man, it was so much fun.

[00:09:41] It was so much fun to just be able to play and love my job. So I miss the early episodes the most. I've spoken to three other cast members from the pit and they've all said to me they wish they were still filming. They've been sad that it's over now because they've enjoyed it so much being on set. Oh, yeah. I mean, I love it. I can't wait to be back. And I think I think they're lying to you. I think we all needed some sleep by the end of that thing.

[00:10:12] Yeah, I mean, it was it was it was amazing. It was one of the most fulfilling, like soul enriching experiences of my life. And I can't wait to be back in it. But in the meantime, I'm I am loving sleeping in. Last question. What did you think of the concept of, you know, 15 episodes? Each episode is one hour of the shift. What was your thoughts on that? I mean, it's it's amazing.

[00:10:39] It's it's, you know, the vast majority of what I've done is is doing plays. You know, I've spent 10 years doing theater. And so that's essentially what it is. It's a play in that you have like anything, any choice that I make in the moment doing a scene in episode three.

[00:11:00] However, however, that comes out now, I have to be like, OK, well, I have to hold on to that and follow the rules of that moment. Yeah. Over the next 12 episodes over the next six months of shooting. And so because it's all one day, there's like a tracing this continuity is very much. It's it's, you know, weaving a very fine tapestry. It's a lot of fun.

[00:11:31] Patrick, I want to thank you for giving me this today. This was great. You know, like I said, I'm hoping to see you down the road again for more episodes. Thanks, man. I enjoy your character. Sure. So and there's nothing wrong with that. No, there's nothing wrong with that. That's right. Patrick, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, this was great. Thanks, guys. Thanks, guys. Thanks, guys.