Katherine LaNasa Learned 'The Pitt' Accent in the
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- Katherine LaNasa initially studied her Pittsburgh accent for 'The Pitt' charge nurse Dana Evans by rewatching Lisa Ann Walter in 'Abbott Elementary' and Julianne Nicholson in 'Mare of Easttown' in the bathtub, without first hiring a dialect coach.
- LaNasa was eventually referred to Pennsylvania-dialect specialist Susanne Sulby, calling the accent 'very muscularly different from how you move your mouth' and 'a hard accent to learn.'
- LaNasa won the Emmy for supporting actress in a drama series for the role roughly nine months ago, but says she would have re-taped the whole first season if it had been a self-tape.
- LaNasa traces her acting start to nearly three years of study with Sanford Meisner, which she undertook while pregnant with son Henry Lee Hopper after watching a documentary about the teacher.
- LaNasa is mastering a North Florida accent for Hulu's 'Count My Lies' with Shailene Woodley and a German accent for Spain-set 'Mister' opposite Walton Goggins, and is now chasing a Broadway debut with a meeting lined up in New York.
- LaNasa cites Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver's late-career turns in 'Animal Kingdom' and 'Silver Linings Playbook' as inspiration; Weaver later reached out to her on Instagram, which LaNasa called overwhelming.
Why it matters: LaNasa's profile makes 'The Pitt' one of the most decorated new dramas of the season going into Emmy nomination voting (which closes June 22), while her pipeline of accent-driven roles across Hulu and a Spain shoot signals her breakout is broadening into a late-career character-actoring surge, with a Broadway meeting suggesting stage work is next.
