On that same call with David Canfield, Shawn Hatosy said that before he booked the role of Dr. Jack Abbot on “The Pitt,” he “was going through a bit of a crisis and a depression,” going on to say, “It was a lean time for me.” He continued:
“I was just hanging on to my youth, or trying to, and really worried about how I looked. What is so surprising and special about Abbot is that people are responding to him, and it’s just a middle-aged guy who is not trying to be anything other than who he f***ing is.”
Not only did “The Pitt” earn Hatosy a legion of new fans who might not have seen him in “Southland” or “Animal Kingdom,” it also scored him an Emmy nomination for Guest Actor in a Drama Series — which is, astoundingly, the first in his career. “I didn’t realize how profoundly I was going to be impacted by this nomination because it just says that those people that I’ve been working with over this 30-year career are responding and paying attention and saying, ‘Hey, good job,'” Hatosy told Canfield.
Just one day after the Vanity Fair piece ran, Esquire featured an interview with Hatosy conducted by Andrea Cuttler, and the two spoke extensively about Hatosy’s previous work and the newfound joy he’s derived from playing Abbot and working on a series like “The Pitt.” Unsurprisingly, Hatosy addressed his Emmy nomination yet again, but made one thing clear: it’s about the work, not an award.
“Getting nominated is a huge surprise, and I’m honestly overwhelmed,” Hatosy told Cuttler. “It feels really good. It’s not because I’m chasing a trophy, but because the people that do this for a living, they’re appreciating something that I’m very proud of.”
More than that, though, Hatosy is happy to see a series like “The Pitt,” which picked up a ton of nominations — including one for Outstanding Drama Series and acting nods for Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa — succeed in this way. “What makes it even more meaningful is that the show as a whole is being recognized,” Hatosy said, ever the team player. “‘The Pitt’ has something important to say. It’s a show that’s being made efficiently right here in L.A., and that matters to the business, and I love this business, and I hope it opens the door for more shows like it.” He’s absolutely right … and as he continued speaking to Cuttler, he revealed that he’s already forged a deep bond with his character after just one season of the show.
