Katherine LaNasa on How Age Shapes Her Portrayal on ‘The Pitt’

Right. I hadn’t thought about that.

It was hard to get a job. I actually don’t feel that I was as crippled as I thought I might be because of my age. I play a lot of powerful characters, and because of that, it was natural for me to go into roles of women that might have more age on them, women that were bosses or mothers or whatever.

Your mom went to nursing school. Did she inspire your Pitt character, Dana?

One of my mom’s sisters is a schoolteacher, and she always had this great moral center: tough and unapologetic but good. All of her sisters are really tough. They all work. So I got a lot from them. I modeled Dana, in a way, off one of my mom’s youngest sisters, who decided in high school she wanted to be a pilot — and became a pilot. I had imagined young Dana being like [her]. My grandmother was not a nurse but ran my grandfather’s office — he was a doctor. [She] was pretty involved and a very confident woman, and also tough but beautiful, kind. I had a lot of women to draw from. There was a lot of female power in my family on both sides.

LaNasa credits the success of “The Pitt” with executive producer John Wells’ ability to feature complicated women on TV. “He was a maverick in that. ... This was an opportunity to play in that sandbox.”

HBO Max/Courtesy Everett Collection

You’ve been married to other actors [current husband Grant Show; ex-husbands French Stewart, and Dennis Hopper]. Is it competitive?

Honestly, because it’s such a shaky business, all my guys have been very happy when the other was working, so we could continue playing tennis or whatever we’re doing when we’re not working. There’s a benefit. I think we’re just happy that we’re employed and tuition is getting paid for the kid, and mortgages are getting paid, and we’re moving it along. It’s a scrappy, scrappy business.

You began your career as a professional ballet dancer and choreographer before acting. Is professional dance still part of your life?

I dance on set! I like to dance a little in between scenes, partly because it’s just this big, wide, wide-open space, and the floor is just the right amount of slippery. I have fun with that. But I did dance in my last series, Truth Be Told. In one of the episodes, I got back en pointe. I had nothing else to do during lockdown but practice. And they had suggested that I dance in the show. And so I slowly — as I was waiting for them to write this episode — started, got my pointe shoes out, and over months got back in shape enough to do a short piece for that. I love to dance on the dance floor, but no, I don’t really dance [professionally]. I do a lot of yoga. I find it incredibly strengthening. It’s been good for my body.

Do you do anything else differently health-wise as you’ve gotten older?

I put a lot of focus on eating as well as I can, trying to make the best choices that I can, eating as much organic food and vegetables as I can. My mother always had a lot of fresh vegetables — a fresh salad every day at dinner. So I don’t consider a meal a good meal unless it involves some fresh fruit or vegetables. I hike as often as I can. Nature is incredibly restorative and creative and grounding. I live close to Griffith Park, so it’s easy for me to enter this great public land. I try to go every weekend with my daughter [Eloise], who’s 11.

It’s wonderful that you can spend such quality time with her.

When you’re on a walk, you learn things about your kid, and you get questions asked that you wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been on this long walk together. Maybe if you’re on a long drive. It’s been good for us.

(From left) Noah Wyle and LaNasa in Season 1 of “The Pitt.” The HBO Max series returns in January 2026 with 15 episodes.

Courtesy HBO Max

Did going through cancer [LaNasa was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in February 2023, undergoing surgery and radiation] provide you with any new perspective? People often tell me that.

Yes. I think that it did a lot for me. It was a great gift. I definitely try to move stress through my body as quickly as I can. [A] situation that arose recently was causing me a lot of stress. I was like, “Yeah, girl” —  it’s almost like we had an agreement about this —  “you’re not doing this anymore.” I literally will tell myself, “You have to drop this now.” I don’t suffer fools anymore. Sometimes you have a friend for a long time, and you just don’t feel good around them anymore. I had a few people like that whom I needed to put on the back burner. I feel pretty unapologetic about that. And also, I don’t think I had enough boundaries. Also, I don’t want to listen to shouting anymore. I don’t really like how that feels. And just to say, “Oh, that doesn’t really work for me.” Yelling? I don’t really want to listen to it. I now prioritize calmness in everything.

The Pitt needs a lot of actors week to week. Is there any chance Grant might show up as a patient or a family member?

I would love it. But I have a funny feeling he might be too famous. He’s still handsome. [They] try to keep everybody looking like real people.