'The Pitt' actress Brittany Allen on betting on herself and earning an Emmy nomination

Geoff Bennett:

For working actors, even a standout role on a hit show doesn't guarantee recognition.

After HBO chose not to submit Brittany Allen for Emmy consideration for her guest role on "The Pitt," she took matters into her own hands, submitting herself. Her character, Roxie, is a young mother facing terminal cancer.

Brittany Allen, Actress:

I don't even know what hurts more, the cancer or knowing I'm never going to see my sons grow up. It feels like a cruel joke. Why give me children and a husband I adore if you're just going to take them away from me?

Geoff Bennett:

That bet paid off. She's now an Emmy nominee with a story about the power of persistence and betting on yourself.

I spoke with Brittany Allen earlier today and started by asking her if she had any hesitation about deciding to submit herself for an Emmy.

Brittany Allen:

No, there's definitely no harm in trying.

And at the point of submitting myself, I was already starting to appear on some prediction lists. The Hollywood Reporter had had a list out, Gold Derby. Some of these sites which anticipate who might be the projected nominees, had me at the top of their list. So I figured, well, they're suggesting that. They're seeing the work.

And not only that. I had been receiving such a flood of positive messages from fans of the show who had been impacted by the story. It was just apparent to me that it had touched a lot of people, and I figured, well, now is the time. It's not often that you find yourself on a hit show with a role that has impacted so many people.

I think, especially as a woman and a and a woman raised in the '90s, you're not taught to stand up and say, hey, this is something I want. I think the general messaging, at least back when I was a young girl, was smile and be thankful.

And, of course, I have always been the first to be thankful. But I think I have taken the approach of being the modest, quiet actress for years. And when you realize that that's not maybe all that it takes to advance your career in the ways that you're looking for, then you try a different approach.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, say more about that, because you said, before this nomination, you were struggling to find representation, to even land auditions in some cases.

What does that say about how hard it is, even for talented working actors in Hollywood right now, with all of the change and churn in the industry?

Brittany Allen:

Yes, it's always been a tough business. And I have been very fortunate over the years, but I have also had my fair share of slow times.

And it's so funny, because you get a role like the one on "The Pitt," and you do seven episodes and you and you deliver work that critics and audiences are responding to. And it's just so beautiful the way that people are just hungry for that, for that raw, real depiction of what it means to be alive.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, that character you played, Roxie, that is, to use your phrase, a raw, real depiction.

How did you approach playing this woman who was confronting the end of her life without it being overly sentimental or overly dramatic?

Brittany Allen:

There were certain scenes in particular that I knew could verge on that. And, for me, it was just about committing to the truth of that moment with just my utmost devotion.

So I absorbed many memoirs on the subject of deaths and dying and people with terminal cancer. And I worked with a death doula. I spoke with cancer experts. I just -- I just went full in.

And, in this case, I thought, OK, this is my chance to really meditate on mortality, not only for Roxie, but for myself. And I saw it as a responsibility, really, because I knew how many people would be watching the show who had been through something like this in their own lives, and for all of us who will ultimately go through it.

I knew that if there was any sense of putting it on or phoning it in, something I try to never do, but particularly in this story, I knew that that false -- falsehood would be picked up on. And so it was a beautiful and very, very sad time.

And that's been a gift in the aftermath too, just having people come up to me and send me messages and share these really tragic, painful moments in their lives, but that they find solace and they -- they found solace in the storyline, and I think that there's a connection to be had in the aftermath that I'm just so -- I'm so grateful for.

Geoff Bennett:

For this nomination, you prepared the submission. You had to pay a fairly hefty fee, mounted your own campaign, got yourself on the ballot, and now you are an Emmy nominee.

What do you hope people take away from your story beyond the nomination itself?

Brittany Allen:

I think it's really important to know your worth. And that's a phrase maybe that's thrown around a lot. And it's not something that's come easy for me.

But I think I have worked very hard at my craft over the years, and I encourage anyone who has a passion to do the same, to just devote yourself to becoming the best version of the artist that you are, and to continue to grow, and then to not let other people's definition of what you are capable of be your own definition of that, to define yourself.

Geoff Bennett:

Brittany Allen, a real pleasure to speak with you. And congratulations again.

Brittany Allen:

Thank you, Geoff. My pleasure.