Popternative is excited to welcome Lucas Iverson to our digital cover for April 2026. Lucas stars in the second season of the HBO Max Emmy-winning medical drama The Pitt, which premiered in January. The 15-episode season wraps up with its finale on April 16 and has already been renewed for a third season.
In Season 2, Lucas plays James Ogilvie, a fourth-year medical student eager to prove himself to Dr. Robinavitch (Noah Wyle). During his first shift at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, Ogilvie quickly clashes with Dr. Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and he is quickly labeled as a “the gunner,” an overly ambitious and often self-serving medical student or trainee. His overconfidence and desire to showcase his knowledge lead him to come across as condescending and judgmental toward patients.
As the season progresses, Ogilvie is repeatedly put in his place by his colleagues. While he doesn’t completely change—after all, the story unfolds over the course of a single day shift—we do begin to see cracks form in his intense exterior as the season nears its end.
In our exclusive cover story, Lucas discusses joining The Pitt in its second season and the complexity of Ogilvie. He also reflects on his journey, sharing how the series became a formative learning experience—both as an actor and collaborator—while touching on what makes the show connect so strongly with audiences.
Exclusive photos for Popternative Magazine by Jonathan Puente
Hair and Makeup: Caitlyn Casey
Styling: Tabitha Sanchez
How did it feel joining a series that had already made such a splash with its first season and earned multiple awards?
Lucas: Intimidating as hell! My imposter syndrome was raging while simultaneously suffering a major blow. I didn’t really have any camera experience before—I’d spent just one day on a professional set, so this was a huge leap. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and had to figure it out working directly next to/across from the people responsible for some of the best work I’d seen on TV in the last few years.
And when all the Emmy business started happening, I was completely unsurprised but felt SO out of my depth. I did love celebrating these beautiful artists (now my friends?!), and tried to not let my fear get in the way. At the same time, my student brain was on fire. I was soaking up everything and doing my best to be fully aware of the blessing I had. Everyone was so gracious, so welcoming. They allowed for me to be new, and understood that there was a learning curve. They really let me bloom there. I feel like going forward, I carry that stamp proudly—like, ‘I learned at The Pitt.’ Similar to grad school, I want to do them proud in all things. I love them and I feel that I owe them.
As Season 2 unfolds, we start to see more layers of Ogilvie emerge—how would you describe who he really is beneath the surface?
Lucas: Ooh, I love this question. I think the surface of him is really obvious, and when people are so upfront with a particular dimension of their personhood, that usually belies some deeper truth, something a bit more hidden. Below the obnoxious gunner, there’s a deep hunger, a surreal sensitivity. He’s someone who constantly aches for a feeling of belonging, who feels like he needs to prove himself in all aspects, who has to make his life into something he loves, something that people can be proud of. I think he’s incredibly sensitive and has a big soft underbelly. But he’s attached to old habits, you know? Ways of being in the world that have served him really well in his past, and maybe aren’t so useful now – in fact, they actively impede his progress.
How hard is that? To let go of these old versions of ourselves that we’ve clung to like a life raft? That’s what I loved so much about his ending this season. That calloused surface has taken serious damage, and he is changed: he cannot operate in the world the way he used to. He can’t hide as much now. That last scene we see is the truest form of him yet—a lot of it was cut in the edit, but the language was brimming with his doubt, his guilt, his belief that he should quit. That doesn’t just appear. It’s been there, and it’s forced to the surface because his mask has been eroded by the day. It’s a beautiful, open place from which to begin again, begin anew. I really hope he does.
Coming into the series, what did you know about the life of a medical student, and how did you approach preparing for such a demanding role?
Lucas: Not much! I knew the tales that it was demanding and grueling, and I did some reading to hear more about what the transformation from student to doctor looks like—Ogilvie is really deep into that learning process when we find him, and I think like in any great story, leaves changed.
Had you already watched The Pitt prior to joining the cast? Did you rewatch it to prepare for your role?
Lucas: Yes, I had seen it! I knew Patrick [Ball] beforehand from Yale and initially watched to support him. but I fell in love with the show and binged it all! Addicted instantly. All I knew was that it was the best thing on TV! I didn’t rewatch other than a bit to reacquaint myself with the tone of the show just before jumping into the deep end.
How did working within a large ensemble shape your performance and process?
Lucas: It’s vital. Ogilvie is added in season 2, which means he exists primarily to serve the other characters. It sounds humbling, but it’s really textbook ensemble work. I think there’s such relief in having a team to rely on in telling the story, in knowing that you’re not the most important person there. It’s liberating. We’re all passing the ball to each other all the time, and it’s so exciting to watch each of these wonderful artists succeed so brilliantly in a scene, and then pass it to someone else.
What were some key learning experiences you gained while working on The Pitt?
Lucas: To me, it was all equally the most incredible and valuable time. I got to be such a sponge there. As an individual and an artist, I learned that I might be a bit more capable than I had ever thought before. As a journeyman actor, I learned SO much about working for the camera. It helps to watch the best in the business every day for seven months. You really learn how to continually commit to the truth and be able to share it with the camera.
Noah [Wyle] became a bit of a mentor figure to me, and helped me out early on with camera work—but also shared so much wisdom about work at large, about priorities, about the industry, about defining a life well lived. I learned how fast I can fall in love with a group of strangers. I continued to learn how to hold on to the immense joy and fulfillment a good project brings you, how to try to carry it into your life, how you cannot do so alone. I learned how many books I can read when I don’t have my phone with me. I think I’m still digesting all the lessons—I probably will be for the rest of my life.
What can you share about your audition process? Was it initially for Ogilvie?
Lucas: Hahaha, no! Ogilvie was actually my fifth time coming in for the show. My first audition was for Whitaker. Don’t tell Gerran [Howell]! Afterwards, there were some patients, a medic, and then this one came in. I was working many jobs in New York at the time, and knew I would have to wake up early to film the self tape before having to work two jobs later that day. After I filmed it, I sent it to my manager and then rushed out to get to my first job. I was on the train and the second scene of the tape was rattling around in my head—I had this gut feeling that I had missed something, that there was a more truthful version of it. I got off the subway at the next stop and called my manager to ask him not to send it in, and to see if we could get an extension. We got it, thankfully, and when I was done my second job, late, I went home and redid the tape with my best friend. We started a bit after midnight and worked it until 1am. Then I edited it and sent it off, and woke up at 6am the next morning to coach at a debate tournament. I was pretty sure I didn’t get it.
What do you think makes The Pitt resonate so powerfully with audiences around the world?
Lucas: I think of The Pitt as an ode to many things. It’s a love letter to healthcare workers, of course—that’s always number one. It’s also a love letter to classic television, a revisiting of the procedural schedule and yearly releases. It brings light to an experience that is in dire need of visibility, and it diagnoses what’s wrong with society. But more than anything, I think it’s overflowing with a specific love for its audience. It respects the audience. It doesn’t treat them like they’re stupid, or distracted, or fragile; it doesn’t lean too heavily into what the facts or figures or social media metrics say that people are enjoying.
The show gives the utmost of itself—and believes that only that, the utmost, is worthy of being offered. The Pitt holds itself to an artistic sense of honor, of duty, to tell the world as it sees it, as it is. At its best, it is endowed with respect, visible nobility, legitimacy. It’s born out of the hearts of artists, out of their abundant love, their rage and audacity and violence and grief and poetry. I think people feel that. Something remarkably human bleeds through the screen. It’s a miracle. It’s fascinating. I will never tire of it.
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The Pitt Season 2 finale will stream on April 16 at 9 pm ET on HBO Max.
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