In HBO Max’s hit medical drama “The Pitt,” patients span every generation. Tasked with populating the high-stakes environment of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, Emmy-winning casting directors Cathy Sandrich Gelfond and Erica Berger oversee an ensemble that mirrors the universal reach of medicine. “Health impacts every person, no matter where you’re from, no matter your age, or background,” Berger says.
Season 2, which premiered Jan. 8, raises the pressure by unfolding over a single, chaotic 15-hour shift on the Fourth of July. With a neighboring hospital shuttered, the influx of patients, ranging from victims of holiday accidents to life-threatening emergencies, demands an even greater array of guest performances to fill the hallways of “The Pitt.”
We sat down with the CDs of “The Pitt” to learn how the duo discovers the fresh faces that not only maintain the series’ gritty realism, but also match the intensity of star Noah Wyle. Here, Gelfond and Berger discuss the unique challenges and creative rewards of finding the series’ relentless revolving door of talent.
Did your approach to casting “The Pitt” change from Season 1?
Cathy Sandrich Gelfond: There is a difference in that because you now have a set of regulars. You have a base that you didn’t have the first time out. You’re definitely thinking about who would be different, who would be interesting emotionally, visually. Essentially, we approached it the same way and are so blessed to have all this amazing talent because we work in LA. We met and read so many new people the year before. It’s nice to try to bring back some of the people we love who weren’t quite right or didn’t get the job.
Erica Berger: One of the most important parts is making sure we’re always reading people we’ve never read before. It’s important for every show, but I think it’s especially important for this show. For our actors out there, I look at every single submission that comes in and watch every single tape that we request. I’m always saying to my actor friends, ‘Why would I ask for a tape and then not watch it?’ That continued this season, and the variety of different kinds of people that we see each episode, keeping it always as open and getting as many people as we can.
Is there a level of being too recognizable when casting “The Pitt” guest stars?
CSG: I think the secret sauce of the show is that we don’t know these people. I don’t know that there’s a level, but I think it’s what Erica said: We’re looking under rocks. Erica’s seeing people from everywhere, as am I. We lean toward less known. But…at a certain age, if you’re 80, we might know you. It’s a fine line. I don’t know that you’re gonna see movie stars on this show. I mean, anything’s possible.
Guest stars have to convey so much, often in a handful of scenes, as in the case of Derek Cecil’s character, Dr. Williams, who learns he has a frontal lobe mass early in this season.
CSG: Wasn’t he touching?! Wasn’t he great?! We’ve loved him since “House of Cards” and before. He’s someone you know, but he doesn’t take you out of it. I think the trick is people that you know, but not that you immediately go, ‘Oh, that couldn’t be him. He was blah blah blah.’ That’s the fine line.
“The Pitt” is very proud to be an LA production. What has that experience been like?
CSG: So good, because there’s so much talent here. I’m from here; I’m a hometown girl, and it makes me very happy. I’ve had a pretty long career, and I’ve almost never gotten to work in LA, so it’s particularly exciting.
EB: I love it because we are the only casting office [for “The Pitt”], which is really nice, and we get to cast every single role from top to bottom. We don’t always get to do that. Even though we love our locations teams that we get to work with, and they’re amazing, but on another show that’s not here, we would only be handling the biggest roles each episode. Part of the fun of casting is giving people their first chance, and we get to do that on this show. We get to be the ones to give someone their first opportunity, and that’s the best feeling ever.
Are guest stars told that the way “The Pitt” shoots means they might not be on camera, but they still have to be on set?
CSG: Yes, we are very clear that this is an amazing job, but it’s a tiring job. You just have to be willing to know that you’ll be there. But there’s something very cool about it. We’ve gotten so many notes from guest stars saying, ‘What a welcoming, wonderful experience. Give us more of this.’
Star and executive producer Noah Wyle also directs and writes on the show. Is he involved in casting those episodes?
CSG: He’s completely involved in everything, not just the ones he writes and directs. He’s incredibly amazing. I don’t know quite how he does all that he manages to do, and at that high level. We talk to him all the time, and he’s very present.
EB: When we send them a link, we can see when the producers are watching them, and we stalk them like, ‘Oh, Noah’s watching. They must be having a break.’ He definitely watches the choices and weighs in.
There’s a lot of prosthetics in the series. How does that impact casting?
EB: That’s a big challenge for us in multiple ways, because in order for the prosthetics to be ready for their episodes, we have to cast these parts early. A lot of times, we don’t have a script yet, so we don’t have materials. We don’t necessarily know 100 percent what the scenes will be. It’s really awesome working with the writers, [because] they’ll make something [available] so that we can get them their person in time. We work really closely with Myriam [Arougheti], who is incredible in makeup, and our producers. It’s nice working together to get those done. But it is challenging, not only finding an actor who can handle all that or is willing to handle all that, but also getting it done early enough to have it ready in time for the episodes.
CSG: Believe me, Erica particularly has had some very interesting conversations. The things you have to tell agents that we are going to require of their clients: ‘Are you sure that they’re OK with a roach? It won’t be a real roach in their ear, but there will be a plastic one, and in the cup there will be a real [one].’
What advice would you give to an actor auditioning for “The Pitt”?
CSG: Truth. We see truth, honesty. You’ve got to feel like you’re not acting. One of the standout things about this show is that it feels real, so we’re always looking for people who understand that and intuitively just tell the truth—even though it’s not their words.
EB: Which is really hard, because we’re talking about undergoing procedures and ailments that hopefully you’ve never experienced before. We know it’s hard to imagine yourself in these situations and what that would feel like and how you would react naturally. We appreciate everybody doing that because it’s a lot—even for an audition—to put yourself through that. It’s not easy.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
