Patrick Ball feared he was going to "die" in debt before his role in The Pitt helped him pay off $80,000 of student loans.
The 36-year-old actor racked up the hefty sum while studying at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and at the Yale School of Drama and he became convinced he would be paying it off for the rest of his life until he landed the role of Dr. Frank Langdon opposite Noah Wyle in the hit HBO medical drama - and he paid off his debts within three months.
Patrick told Cultured magazine: "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. It’s a huge burden to carry, and a lot of people carry it."
The actor admitted having such a huge amount of debt was a "really heavy thing to live with" and the financial security had even affected his love life.
He told the publication: "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. No take-backsies on that."
Patrick went on to admit he considered quitting acting shortly before landing his role in The Pitt because he wanted a more stable career to help manage his money issues - and he thought about swapping his Hollywood dreams for a life at sea by joining the US Merchant Marines.
He explained: "Working as an actor, you don’t know what’s coming, have no money - the financial outlook can be bleak. I was looking for an off-ramp ... I was thinking about joining the Merchant Marines."
Patrick went on to take a job fundraising for a university as well as working in a coffee shop and in a restaurant. He was also paid to take part in corporate coaching seminars and landed on a role in the wardrobe department for Sex And The City spin-off series And Just Like That … before finally securing his role in The Pitt.
He added: "Then the call for The Pitt came in and everything was different."
