United Kingdom, April 9 -- Patrick Ball feared he was going to "die" in debt before his role in The Pitt helped him pay off $80,000 of student loans.

The 36-year-old actor racked up the hefty sum while studying at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and at the Yale School of Drama and he became convinced he would be paying it off for the rest of his life until he landed the role of Dr. Frank Langdon opposite Noah Wyle in the hit HBO medical drama - and he paid off his debts within three months.

Patrick told Cultured magazine: "I paid off my student loans like three months into The Pitt, and that was a really profound moment 'cause I thought I was gonna die with it. It's a huge burden to carry, and a lot of people carry it." ...