One of the many reasons why MAX‘s The Pitt is such an undeniably addictive hit is its huge cast of incredibly relatable, indelibly human characters, and perhaps the most lovable character we’ve met so far is med student Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell). In just the first couple of episodes, the Nebraska native gets saddled with the cutesy nickname of “Huckleberry” and absolutely slammed by the grief of losing a patient.
“It’s probably the worst thing that could possibly happen to somebody on a shift, especially a first shift,” The Pitt star Gerran Howell told DECIDER recently, “and I think he definitely takes it personally.”
Poor Whitaker has also since suffered the indignities of being peed on by the “Kraken” (Ian Stanley), having his pinkie finger bruised by the body of a patient, and being forced to cycle through many, many, many scrub changes. Nevertheless, Whitaker has persisted thus far. At least, that is to say, he hasn’t given up.
DECIDER recently got the chance to catch up with Pitt star Gerran Howell (and his cat) over Zoom. We talked to the British actor about what it’s like cycling through so many scrubs, what Whitaker really makes of aggressive intern Dr. Santos (Isa Briones), and how Noah Wyle really is Dr. Robby on and off camera…
DECIDER: One of my favorite things in The Pitt is how many scrubs your character has to go through. I kind of lost count of how many scrub changeovers he has in the early episodes. Do you know how many scrubs changes you had? And what was it like being the guy who constantly was getting messy in the ER?
GERRAN HOWELL: I mean, all together, I haven’t counted how many there are and I also don’t want to give away if there are any more bodily fluids coming at Whitaker, but I think it’s over five, for sure. I’ll say that.
I mean, it was easy for me. For comedy value, I just stand there and sort of have bodily fluids come at me. [laughs] But, yeah, it was always a guessing game what they were going to throw at me next. It made the days quite exciting.
Your character is the first of the younger interns and med students to lose a patient. It very much affects him, the loss of Mr. Milton. I’m curious what you made of having him go through that loss so early in his his shift, so early in the season.
Yeah, I think he’s very affected by it. It’s probably the worst thing that could possibly happen to somebody on a shift, especially a first shift, and I think he definitely takes it personally. No matter how much he takes that failure and kicks himself for it, at the end of the day, the shift goes on and he just has more and more things thrown at him. So I’d really like to think Whitaker is really resilient and just keeps going because he has to. But yeah, he definitely takes it personally and sort of has to learn how to keep moving. That’s the sort of grim reality of it, really.
I talked to Isa Briones and she said that she loved the fact that Whitaker was there to watch Santos mess up her chest tube in Episode 6 because she knows that she’s been riding him so hard. So she was happy that you guys had some karma there. What does Whitaker make of Santos at this point?
He’s terrified. I think he’s absolutely terrified of Santos. Who wouldn’t be? I mean, I think generally Whitaker is just sort of intimidated by other people. He sort of comes from a very humble background on the farm. I think he’s very competent, but I think that the thing that sort of lets him down is [working with] people. Santos is so, so forward and so proddy, I think he’s just terrified of her. But I’d like to think he can also see how talented she is and maybe aspires to be as confident as she is, secretly. Yeah. She’s the complete opposite for sure.
Speaking of the opposites, is there anyone in that staff you think that Whitaker is drawn to, or kind of relates to, the most? Likewise, is there anyone else on the cast that you found yourself really bonding with over this this process of filming the season?
I think Noah’s sort of the obvious person Whitaker latches on to, just because [Dr. Robby] is the leader and just really gives him the most down-to-earth advice. Everyone else is running around, trying not to mess up, and he is sort of the anchor that is keeping Whitaker above water for a lot of the time. You know, he is giving him practical advice, with the CPR, telling him how to keep his pace. But he’s also talking to him about how you just have to keep carrying on and how you find that balance of connecting with people and doing your job.
And, you know, Noah also — he is just Dr. Robbie, really. So, yeah, that relationship sort of reflects the real life relationship, really. Coming into a job, that can be intimidating. Noah, he sets the tone big time and keeps us all calm and keeps us all levelheaded.
Your character is a farm boy from Nebraska, and you are from the UK, so I’m curious if you did any research into Nebraska culture. Because I do have a coworker who’s from Nebraska and he had some questions for you… [laughs]
What are the questions? [laughs]
Well, first, he wanted to know what your feelings about Iowa corn are, because apparently in Nebraska, that’s a sore subject.
I’m so sorry, I have no idea! [laughs] Do you know what? So he’s from Broken Bow, Nebraska. There’s not much information. I looked up a drive through of Broken Bow, Nebraska on YouTube. It’s sort of a five minute video of someone going from one end of the town to the other. [laughs] Apart from that, I couldn’t find too much information.
I mean, there are rural communities here in the UK. So I sort of guess I had that sort of connection to it. I have family who have rural connections from deepest, darkest west Wales, where farming is a lifeline. So, yeah, I just really wanted to show how Whitaker is just out of his element, socially, being in city life. I just really want to show how personally, for him, it was like a big deal to be living in the city compared to Nebraska. Yeah.
Before I go, would you be game for another season? And do you think that there’s more to explore with Whitaker’s character?
Yeah, absolutely. I just really feel connected to Whitaker now and just want the best for him. I just hope he maybe just finds his groove a little bit more or doesn’t, you know, because that makes for good TV. Yeah, I wish Whitaker all the best.
The Pitt returns tonight at 9 PM ET on MAX.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
