Patrick Ball says even if 'The Pitt' didn't work out, it made him debt-free: 'They can't take that away from me'

• Patrick Ball says landing a role on "The Pitt" changed his finances.
• The actor said he was able to pay off his $80,000 student debt within three months.
• Ball called it a "really profound moment," adding he thought he'd "die with" the debt.

"The Pitt" actor Patrick Ball, 36, says he once thought he'd be stuck with his student loans for life.

In a Cultured interview published Tuesday, Ball spoke about how his finances changed after landing the role of Dr. Frank Langdon on the HBO Max medical drama.

When asked about paying off his student debt, he paused and began to cry, according to the interview.

"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 told Cultured.

The actor described his debt as a "huge burden to carry," adding that many people share that experience.

"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 said.

He added that getting out of debt felt like a win in itself, regardless of how the show performed.

"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 can't take that away from me. I am out of debt. No take-backsies on that," Ball said.

This isn't the first time that Ball has spoken about his student debt.

Ball told The Hollywood Reporter in February that attending Yale was "a scary gamble" after he had dropped out of another college to pursue acting for five years.

"When I got the job on 'The Pitt,' the first thing I did was to pay off my student loans. It felt really, really good, especially because when I went to Yale, I didn't exactly get the reaction from my family that I was hoping for," Ball said.

He added that his parents tried to convince him to drop out. "They were worried about me taking on all that debt and wondering why I would do that to myself," he said.

Last month, the Education Department announced that beginning July 1, the 7 million borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan will have 90 days to select a new plan and begin payments.