Taylor Dearden Shares the Backstory for Her Character That ‘May Never, Ever Be Shown’ On ‘The Pitt’: EXCLUSIVE

Taylor Dearden only plays a doctor on television, but it doesn’t make some of the medical emergency scenes feel any less real.

“It could be fake, but your body won’t know,” Dearden says.

Dearden, the daughter of actor Bryan Cranston, plays Dr. Mel King on HBO Max’s “The Pitt,” set to premiere its Season 2 finale on Thursday, April 16.

Mel, currently a second-year resident, became an immediate fan favorite in Season 1 after viewers saw her hype herself up in the ambulance bay by singing Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” and when she tried to mimic Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) hitting the top of the door frame — but missed.

Mel is neurodivergent and often thought of by some of her coworkers as the “weird one” at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center (with the exception of Langdon). The end of Season 1 revealed that outside of the hospital, she’s the primary caretaker for her sister, Becca (Tal Anderson), who has autism.

So far in Season 2’s Fourth of July shift, Mel has dealt with a deposition for a medical malpractice suit and the arrival of Becca in the emergency department. When Becca is diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, Mel learns for the first time that her sister, who lives in an assisted care facility, has a boyfriend of six months, which becomes “this bigger thing,” Dearden says, speaking to some of Mel’s long-buried fears.

Below, Dearden shares why in a conversation with TODAY.com.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

We just had Luke Tennie on our show, and he said before he joined for Season 2 you told him essentially, “You’re going to feel an adrenaline spike. Make sure you’re prepared for the crash after.” How did you come across this advice? How did you experience that crash?

No one told us about it, but it was just me going, “Oh no, this is happening.” And I think it was odd because it you know, it can be fake, but your body won’t know. And so it sends out fight or flight hormones. It sent out everything. And the way we shoot is also that it’s not done in a block. So we actually do that same trauma scene every single day. And so all of it’s released every day.

I think the first time I was really affected by it was a scene where afterward I high-fived Robby (Noah Wyle), and I didn’t know I did, but I like, left the ground. Like I jumped up in the air to high-five him. And the director was like, “Hey, you’re not that excited.” And I was like, “I didn’t even know I did it.” I was so buzzing that I was just kind of, levitating.

Gerran (Howell), who plays Whittaker, went quite a while before a trauma scene. I warned him, but still he came back, and he’s just … everything’s shaking. It affects us.

I also knew that Luke’s wife was pregnant, and he had a toddler, and so I was like, “Oh boy, you got to start figuring out a way to get calmed down when you get back.”

So much of Mel’s storyline this season has been about her relationship with Becca. When Becca left the ER abruptly after their fight, what was going through Mel’s mind?

I think it’s happened before where (Becca will) just like leave. Like, “Oh that’s cool. You’re done, but I wasn’t.”

It’s reorienting how you see yourself. I think for Mel, everything has been Becca-oriented. It’s not that she’s freaked out by sex … it’s just the idea that she’s not needed anymore, I think is the thing that’s hardest for Mel.

As a caretaker, as a friend, as a sibling?

Yeah, all of it. I mean (Becca and her boyfriend) have been dating for six months. And it’s kind of like, wow, you’ve had this other life. I think it just hit Mel really hard that she’s not needed. I think Mel’s taking it way further than that and thinking she’s also not wanted. And it becomes this bigger thing than it is.

Mel King (Taylor Dearden) and her sister, Becca (Tal Anderson).Warrick Page / Warrick Page/MAX

Because of the show’s format, we’ve only seen two days of Mel’s life. Could you talk more about where that comes from with your understanding of her backstory, her past, things viewers haven’t seen?

What’s great was when we were just starting and rehearsing and doing our boot camp the first round, John Wells and Scott Gemmill sat us down and told us our backstories that may never, ever be shown, which was just so great and needed for us to just get behind our characters and understand why we’re doing the things we’re doing.

A bunch of Mel stuff came out there. I learned that both of our parents died when we were young. And so Mel’s actually been the primary caretaker … (she) had to be an adult very fast. And so I think it was just kind of knowing that there’s a kind of heartbreak when you’re not needed anymore, like an empty nester parent. But also especially if it’s your sister. You’re supposed to gab with your sister about stuff, and to not have that either is like, oh — that’s really sharp and painful.

As she’s going through those very intense emotions with Becca, is there anything specifically about having Langdon as Becca’s doctor and his presence that affected Mel and how she responded to the situation?

I still don’t know why, delightfully, Langdon is so different around her. I wonder if Patrick (Ball) actually got something in the backstory that I don’t know about, because I don’t know — but I think he tries to learn her and to learn Mel. He’s curious and asks questions and is really good about that.

It’s almost a year now, and still, he’s the only one that still tries with her. Everyone else is kind of like, “Oh, she’s weird and talking to herself now.” As opposed to like, “OK, let’s talk.” Up until that episode, every hour has been him being the guy that she remembers. I think just having someone who’s willing to take it slow with Becca and not jump to any assumptions and just kind of do what he’s been doing with Mel with Becca.

Langdon and Mel in “The Pitt” Season 2, Episode 15, which airs April 16.Warrick Page / HBO Max

Back to your character’s backstory, are there still any mysteries to Mel for you? Any questions you have for her, for the writers?

The age — how old Mel and Becca were when both the parents died is nebulous. So I’ve kind of gone between, and I think I’ve kind of arrived at what I think is right, which is: Dad died a lot younger, when they were a lot younger, but mom didn’t die ’til like maybe sophomore year of college.

But it also seems like she was already in the practice of being a caretaker before then, so I think it’s just been a lot of responsibility for a long time.