Actor Shawn Hatosy discusses the unexpected rise in popularity of his character on The Pitt, the challenges of internet fame, and the meaningful impact the show has had on viewers, inspiring them to pursue healthcare careers.
The show’s success is exciting—but it’s also put a lot of pressure on Hatosy, especially as his character emerges as a lawful-good counterpart to Noah Wyle’s increasingly polarizing Dr. Robby. The way the actor sees it, “It’s a lot. But these are great problems to have.” On the eve of season two’s finale, we spoke with Hatosy about navigating internet fame, whether Tarantino would think he’s a “weak sauce” actor, and if he could really help you in a medical emergency.
Vanity Fair: You’ve earned a lot of love for your posts, and for being The Pitt’s answer to George Clooney. How have you adapted to all of this attention? Shawn Hatosy: It’s definitely changed my life. I’m somebody that has a long history of being involved with social media; I always enjoyed looking at it like another creative outlet. With Twitter, it was almost something I used to get writing thoughts out in a way that was never intended to be serious. I try not to take myself too seriously, because I think there’s a lot of serious shit out there. I’ve gotten older, and social media has changed so much. And now with this huge success of The Pitt, I've definitely received a lot of attention, like you said. It’s hard, because I’ve always felt this desire with Twitter to connect in a way that produces meaningful engagement. But now, there’s a darkness to it as well, so it’s challenging. It is making me think differently about things and how to adapt. Having said all that, there are so many meaningful things that have come from it. I’m not just talking about social media, but in the world: meeting people who are so affected by it, and are now deciding, ‘I’m gonna go to nursing school. I wasn’t sure, but seeing you guys and how you portray these characters, it means so much to me.”
A few of your tweets have become really popular. I have a few in front of me, actually. Oh, great. These are some deep texts. Some might even say philosophical. What do these tweets mean to you? Walk me through how they came to be. Oh my gosh. The “unc peepaw” stuff is from comments and what people call me, which I think is hilarious. There was a time on Twitter where I just would try to make myself laugh, and hopefully other people would laugh too. I don't know what goes on. I’m sure a therapist would say that maybe I have a dysfunction or a disorder. I don't know. I did see somebody put an edit on Instagram with my tweets and put them to characters from The Pitt, and it was so funny.
What advice do you have for people who see these tweets and want to reach Shawn Hatosy-level confidence? I think the most important thing, truly, is to not take yourself too seriously. This is an odd time, but you’ve got to be a little self-deprecating. At the same time, enjoy yourself. Don’t be afraid to talk about eating a cookie in bed and getting crumbs all over the place. I can’t figure it all out right now, so I’m just gonna stare out at the window. .
In 2017, you tweeted, “Quentin Tarantino never hired me, crazy, fake and overrated, sad.” Is a Tarantino movie something you would still want to do now? Oh, fuck. Gosh, I had such respect for him as a filmmaker and you start to lose interest when he makes fun of actors who I respect. It sucks. Do I think I would ... Yeah, I don’t think we're gonna have to worry about that. I might show up on his list as a weak sauce actor, too. I don’t know, who knows? Are there any directors that you're hoping to work with? When I won the Emmy, Ron Howard called my name and handed me my Emmy. I just love him so much. As an artist who was also an actor when I was younger and has had a long career and wants to direct, that's somebody I just have so much respect for. He probably looked at me like, “What the heck?” I didn’t wanna let go of his hand.
This season, you directed episode 9. How did that opportunity come about? It was very nerve-wracking and scary. It challenges you to stay as focused as possible, particularly because of the success of season one and with the Emmys. It made me look in the mirror and sort of tell myself, ‘It’s time to man up, because you’ve got this.’ But you know, you have insecurities. I’ve directed other shows. This is not like any of them. In terms of pre-production, you’re not out on location, you're not making decisions about light outside. It’s very contained, and this one setting I’m very familiar with—so that's a real special insight I have.
Was it hard to juggle acting and directing in the same episode? In terms of wearing both hats, The Pitt is scary—the Dr. Abbot stuff is not innately in me. I really have to work on it, and I feel I need more takes than I might on something where you and I were just having a conversation about our emotions or something. But the scene with Noah and I towards the end of that episode where we finally connect, he says goodbye: “If I don't see you again…” I was really proud of how that came together. Thankfully, there was no having to talk about anything medical. We just got to sort of not look at each other, like men, and try not to share too many emotions. There was a lot of thought put into that scene, because it’s the beginning of his goodbyes. realizes at that moment, as Abbot says he’s leaving, ‘Oh, he's coming to the end of his shift.’ We spent a lot of time figuring out what that meant, because the audience is also starting to understand that Robby’s motives might be harmful to himself.
Since their roof scene in season one, Abbot and Noah Wyle’s character have been set up as foils to each other. When Robby says goodbye to Abbot, your character replies “You just make sure you come back. And if it gets dark, you call me.” Your character seems to be one of the few to recognize something darker, an underlying mental struggle, in this goodbye. Why is that? They did have that moment on the roof in season one. I think that for Abbot, it was an interesting kind of switch: we start season one and he’s on the roof and we really are questioning whether or not he's capable of taking care of himself. He puts the question out there: “I’m not sure why I keep coming back to this place.” But through the mass casualty event, he understands his purpose. He articulates that to Robby, and what it brings out is this idea that Abbot is working on himself: “I’m seeing a therapist, and that's something that maybe you should do too.” As we come to them 10 months later, we see very much that Robby has not done that work. Abbot is still in the process of doing that work even though it’s a little misguided, because he’s day shifting as a SWAT medic, and that’s its own darkness. But I believe he’s trying. So when he’s checking in with Robby, I think it’s the first glimmer in Abbot’s eyes that Robby really isn’t paying attention to himself in the way that he needs to. As we go further into the season and everybody else is checking in with Robby, we all start to realize that we need to do more. I think the reason Abbot can get through to him is because they are so alike, and Robby respects Abbot as a colleague and leader as well. He’s really one of the only people that can kind of hold the mirror up to him and say, “Come on, man.”
These two characters don't spend much time together onscreen. What informs your choices when it comes to portraying this sort of intimacy? I think it’s important, as an actor, to understand the history even if it’s not necessarily on the page. With Abbot’s trauma, we talk a bit about how he lost his wife, he lost his leg in combat. I would say that Robby is probably his best friend, and I think that it is important for Abbot to be able to get to some emotional place in order for Robby to hear him, and so that helps with the intimacy.
You’re filming Cry Wolf in Toronto right now. Ready or Not 2 just came out, and The Pitt is on. Do you relate to Abbot’s need to fill his days with so many things? Keeping yourself occupied with acting, directing, and different projects? Yes, it’s important. I've always maintained that you have to have something that you're passionate about that isn't the thing that you do. For me, I play tennis. I haven't been able to play a lot of tennis in Toronto; I end up playing pickleball, which I know some people make fun of. But there’s easier access to that, especially when you're traveling. That’s something that I use to decompress. I used to drink, but I don’t do that anymore, so meditation and exercise, that's my going to the bar. I love to write when I can, but it’s very hard to do when you're busy, it's hard to compartmentalize. Once you're in character, thinking of other things becomes very trying because you’re like, ‘I have to give everything to this.’ It’s been a lot, but it’s great.
Will we be getting our own TV show directed and written by Shawn Hatosy? Is that a trajectory we should be expecting of you? Oh, gosh. I do write and certainly have tried to get things done but it’s hard. For me, I’m just getting started. I would love to direct a film or star in the Night Shift, who knows? . In a world where the night shift exists as its own TV show, how do you think that works? I think it’s an exciting concept in terms of tone. We start to see a little bit of it at the end of season two. You get to see Abbot with his crew, and you start to see the types of people that decide they wanna be on the night shift. They’re not all normal. They’re nightcrawlers. At the same time, the tone shifts as you start to see some pretty insane people that have been drinking, and all the things.
After two seasons on The Pitt, do you think people can call you on a plane if they need a doctor? No, no, no, no, no, no. . No. I mean, call Noah. Hopefully he’s on the plane too, because he could probably perform some sort of medical thing. Not me, not me at all.
This season of The Pitt has a storyline in which ICE agents bring a woman they arrested and harmed to the hospital. How important was it to you to have this episode exist within this show’s narrative? I think one of the reasons the show is finding massive success is because from the get-go, it was about accuracy and trying to get the medicine as correct as possible. It is a mirror of what's happening in the world. It’s a very complicated system that these medical professionals are working within. It’s broken, and it has an effect on them. Hopefully in portraying it in the most honest way we can, it will enlighten people that make decisions about how to run the system. Maybe not; probably not. But at least we’ve done something that shows it as closely as it should be shown. That’s pretty good television.
Do you think that shows and movies have a duty to represent what’s happening in our world, or at least make some sort of commentary on it? I don’t think they have to, but I think it certainly can be engaging. I look at one of my favorite movies, All The President’s Men. It highlights a very corrupt thing, and it’s still popular and successful, and the critics responded to it. So certainly, I don’t think it’s necessary, but it can work.
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