Canadian actor Brittany Allen, who guest-starred in season two of The Pitt as terminally ill patient Roxie Hamler, says she submitted her own performance for Emmy consideration after HBO overlooked it.
Allen, 40, appeared in just under half of the critically acclaimed medical drama’s second season. She was originally expected to appear in eight of the 15 episodes, which would have placed her over the guest-starring threshold and into the supporting actress category, where she would likely have competed against co-stars Katherine LaNasa, Sepideh Moafi, Taylor Dearden and Isa Briones.
However, the final scene she filmed, in which Roxie lies dead in a hospital bed after succumbing to lung cancer, was ultimately cut.
“I was waiting to see if they would include that scene they had shot,” Allen told Variety. “When I saw that they just had her pass away off camera, first of all, I thought that was a beautiful decision creatively. And then it opened the door for me to be eligible, which was, oh my God, exciting.”
Earlier this week, she posted on Instagram about her Emmy campaign. “Kind of surreal to be in Emmy consideration with @variety @hollywoodreporter @goldderby and since @hbo didn’t submit me — I’m running my own #FYC campaign!” she wrote in the caption, alongside a graphic promoting her work and featuring predictions from the aforementioned publications.
“You have to fight for yourself. You have to believe in your work, and you can’t expect other people to do that for you,” she added to Variety.
“The industry is built on hype, and if nobody is creating that hype for you, you have to find a way to do it yourself. I’ve always focused the majority, if not all, of my efforts on evolving my craft as an actor. That’s the most important thing, and it’s taken me a lot of years to realize that, that alone will not necessarily advance your career.”
She said she has not been in contact with the network since leaving the show, joking, “Give me a call back, HBO!”
Still, Allen holds no resentment toward the streamer, acknowledging that “HBO definitely has the challenging task of choosing from so many amazing performances on The Pitt.”
The Independent has contacted HBO for comment.
Self-submitting to the Emmys is not uncommon, and Allen is no stranger to championing her own success.
In fact, she previously submitted herself for Emmy consideration in 2011 for her supporting role as Marissa Chandler on the popular soap opera All My Children. She was 25 at the time and went on to win the Daytime Emmy for outstanding younger actress in a drama series.
The Pitt, which debuted in 2025 and dominated that year’s Emmy awards, stars Noah Wyle alongside an ensemble cast as a group of emergency room doctors in Pittsburgh. Season three is currently in production, with an expected premiere date of January 2027.
