Adam Patla
The structure of The Pitt doesn’t often allow for the personal lives of our main characters to trickle into the ER in a big way. That’s why, when Mel’s sister Becca arrives in the waiting room, it’s such an exciting shift. Not only do we receive a new patient but we’re also going to watch a deep personal connection to the patient play out.
Tal Anderson plays Becca with a vibrancy that immediately pulls you in. She effortlessly enters the chaos of the hospital, even though she didn’t expect this route for the character. “I didn’t have big expectations for her role in the show to expand realistically because of the format of the show and the fact that she’s not a doctor….” she explains. “When I got the script for Episode 7, oh my gosh, I was really excited…. I was hoping so hard for an emergency visit so when I saw that she was making a trip…I freaked out.”
Of course, just as Becca arrives, Mel is pulled away to her impending deposition, leaving her in Dr. Langdon’s care.
“Patrick [Ball] is so great,” Anderson says of getting to collaborate with Ball. “He’s down to earth and, just like everyone else working on The Pitt, he’s there to work and do his job and he’s so good at it. And he really does have nice hair…. He kept telling me, ‘Langdon is having a terrible day.’ I really wanted to visually have Becca try to connect with Dr. Langdon because she wants to know more about him for Mel’s sake. She’s basically making sure he’s good enough to be Mel’s friend. She wants to protect Mel.”
Putting Becca in Langdon’s care also allows her to exist out of just the context of being Mel’s sister. Becca takes on autonomy and feels like her own person, rather than a person we hear about or catch in glimpses. Particularly, Langdon gives Becca the option to choose what she does and doesn’t share with Mel about her health and private life, opening up a larger discussion.
“I’m grateful in general for any kind of authentic representation for my community,” she explains. “But the writers on this show are targeting issues that disabled people have been battling forever and this is one of them. Becca is disabled and yes, she has high support needs. Okay, but that doesn’t make her less of a human being. She has a right to be part of making decisions about her own life….”
Anderson plays the moments with a lot of strength and resolve, allowing Becca to stand firm in her choices. She says, “It felt great to help Becca assert her independence a bit. It also felt good to reinforce that concept of confidence and the right to choose and live your life the way you want. It’s a basic right we should all have.”
Anderson’s push for empowering representation goes beyond her work on screen. The second book in her Oh, Tal! series releases in April, letting kids “who feel confused by the world sometimes…”that it’s okay to think on a different track.”
You can check out all of Tal Anderson‘s incredible work on Season 2 of The Pitt streaming on HBO Max. New episodes release Thursdays at 9:00 PM ET on HBO Max. Be sure to check out our full conversation with Tal below.
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