Patrick Bell Cries as He Reveals He Had $80,000 in Student Loan Debt Before Landing 'The Pitt' Role

Patrick Ball is getting emotional as he recalls how The Pitt helped him get out of serious debt.

In a new interview, the 36-year-old actor, who plays Dr. Frank Langdon on the HBO medical drama, said that landing a role on the show helped him get out of $80,000 worth of student loan debt.

Keep reading to find out more…“I paid off my student loans like three months into The Pitt, and that was a really profound moment because I thought I was gonna die with it,” Patrick said through tears to Cultured magazine.

“It’s a huge burden to carry, and a lot of people carry it,” he continued. “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.”

“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,’” he continued. “No take-backsies on that.”

Prior to being cast on The Pitt, Patrick said that he started leaning towards a life outside of Hollywood all together.

“The financial outlook can be bleak. I was looking for an off-ramp,” Patrick said, noting that his then-girlfriend’s dad was trying to convince him to join the FBI. After moving to New York City, Patrick said he was working four jobs.

“I was working at a coffee shop, I was working at a restaurant, I was working as a wardrobe assistant for And Just Like That, I was doing these corporate coaching seminars,” he recalled. “I don’t think I’ve told anybody this story, but I was doing these seminars where they’d bring me into Blackrock and Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, and they would want to teach these young administrators how to have difficult conversations, à la how to fire somebody. They would bring me in as an actor so that these administrators could get practice firing someone.”

“So I have been fired more than anyone you’ve ever met, I promise you,” Patrick added. “I’ve been fired thousands of times. And then the call for The Pitt came in and everything was different.”

Earlier this week, Patrick had the support of many of his The Pitt co-stars at opening night of his new Broadway play!