The Pitt star on 'graphic' reality of hit show and rumours Clooney helped him get role

A Welsh actor who portrays a trainee doctor in Emmy-award-winning hospital drama The Pitt says he has a "new found respect" for the medical profession owing to the show's highly realistic scenes.

Gerran Howell, from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, said The Pitt - set in a US emergency department - was "built on medical accuracy" with a team of medical advisers both on and off set.

"There was a boot camp which was intense, they sat us all down in a room, took us through every procedure, showed us very graphic videos of every procedure and they guide us through it," he said.

Howell, 35, said he had also heard reports that George Clooney had personally recommended him for the part.

Howell plays fourth-year medical student Dennis Whitaker in the popular HBO drama, which follows the daily lives of healthcare professionals in a Pittsburgh hospital.

Speaking to Lucy Owen on BBC Radio Wales, Howell said his character Whitaker started out "very overwhelmed" but by series two was becoming "more capable, more knowledgeable, more savvy, which I think he kind of has to be otherwise he'd be fired!"

He said the series used "an incredible team of medical advisers" and "the whole show is built on medical accuracy".

"When we have a trauma scene, a big complicated scene, we're really taken through that in terms of choreography," he said, adding that the medical jargon was "a lot sometimes".

"Every instrument that we're holding, we're told its purpose and, you know, maybe given some stories."

Would a real medical career ever be for him?

"It's extremely gory," he said.

"[But] I have such a new found respect for the medical profession."

The series is executive produced by Noah Wyle, who also stars in it as Dr Michael "Robby" Robinavitch.

Wyle is better known to some as ER's Dr John Carter, another US medical drama which was a massive hit in the 1990s, and which made Clooney famous for his portrayal of Dr Doug Ross.

Howell got to know Clooney himself on the set of the 2019 World War Two mini series Catch-22 and said he was "charming, full of anecdotes, a lovely man and a great actor".

Howell said he had recently heard that Clooney may have recommended him for his role in the Pitt.

"I haven't talked to Noah about it yet, but I've heard in interviews that there were words between them, and George recommended me," said Howell.

"It just goes to show, you know, keep everyone happy."

Howell paid tribute to his drama teachers at Barry Comprehensive School who "ignited [his] passion" for an acting career, as well as an after-school improvisation club he attended in Cardiff Bay.

"I found something that I was semi good at and I ran with it," said Howell, who divides his time between LA and London but returns to Barry as often as he can, especially at Christmas.

"I've been back quite recently [and] I try and go back as much as I can," he said.