The Pitt guest star, Brittany Allen, submitted herself for an Emmy Award after HBO didn’t include her in its submission package for the medical drama.
Allen, a Canadian actress who rose to prominence as a young star in All My Children, joined the hit drama in its second season. She played Roxie Hamler, a terminally ill young mother fighting lung cancer.
According to Variety, her role was written for six episodes and extended by another two, but her final scene did not air. Had she been included in eight episodes, her stint as a guest actress would have been elevated to the supporting actress category.
“I was waiting to see if they would include that scene they had shot,” Allen told Variety over Zoom. “When I saw that they just had her pass away off camera, first of all, I thought that was a beautiful decision creatively. And then it opened the door for me to be eligible, which was, oh my God, exciting.”
For an actor to be a contender for the Emmy Guest Acting category, the performer must have appeared in fewer than half of a show’s episodes in a season.
Allen, therefore, became eligible and decided to take things into her own hands.
“HBO definitely has the challenging task of choosing from so many amazing performances on ‘The Pitt,’” the actress said. “I’m in awe of the choreography and the casting and the balancing of all of these incredible humans existing in this world. HBO put forward a few guest stars who all did fantastic work. But in terms of a conversation with them, there hasn’t been much between me and HBO.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to HBO for comment.
Allen shared a graphic of herself from The Pitt on Instagram, saying, “Kind of surreal to be in Emmy consideration with @variety @hollywoodreporter @goldderby and since @hbo didn’t submit me—I’m running my own #FYC campaign! 🤣" She thanked her casting directors at the end of the post.
The guest star submitted herself for “3:00 p.m.,” the ninth episode of the show’s second season. Directed by Shawn Hatosy, the episode sees Allen’s character Roxie sharing a poignant moment with Dr. Cassie McKay, played by Fiona Dourif.
Allen has submitted herself for an Emmy before, even earning the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress for her role in All My Children. “I did submit myself, and a year after finishing on the show, I ended up winning,” she said.
“You have to fight for yourself. You have to believe in your work, and you can’t expect other people to do that for you,” the actress declared.
“The industry is built on hype, and if nobody is creating that hype for you, you have to find a way to do it yourself,” the TV star explained. “I’ve always focused the majority, if not all, of my efforts on evolving my craft as an actor. That’s the most important thing, and it’s taken me a lot of years to realize that that alone will not necessarily advance your career.”
The official Emmy nominations will be unveiled on July 8.
