Taylor Dearden Just Wants Dr. Mel to Be Seen
n a show full of characters who are notably caring and good at their jobs, The Pitt’s Dr. Mel King stands out for not just her empathy and her skill but also her vulnerability. Mel doesn’t have the hard shell that some of her colleagues have developed to deal with the stress of the ER. She’s anxious in a way that makes her the ideal audience surrogate. (After all, who among us wouldn’t be nervous if we were dropped into a Pittsburgh ED and asked to stitch up strangers?) And because she’s neurodivergent, her coping mechanisms need to be a little different from those around her.
“There’s an unmasked version of me in Mel,” says Taylor Dearden, who plays Dr. King on the HBO hospital drama. “We’re both neurodivergent. But Mel is undiagnosed, and that’s definitely something we don’t have in common.” A California native with acting in her family history—her mom is actress Robin Gale Dearden, and her dad is actor Bryan Cranston—Dearden was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, and she draws on that to capture Mel’s fish-out-of-water experience.
Dearden poses at the premiere of the second season of The Pitt
It’s a very different job from her previous role, starring in MTV’s dark comedy Sweet/Vicious, where she played a stoner vigilante fighting sexual assault on a college campus. Mel’s essential sweetness can make her seem naive, but as the show progresses, it becomes clear that she has an inner strength and a long history of caring for others—starting with her sister, Becca, who is autistic and high-needs.
Delivering this nuanced performance while confidently tossing around medical terms (and, occasionally, alarmingly lifelike prostheses) on a set that operates like nothing else in Hollywood would be a challenge for any actor, but Dearden says the feedback is worth it. “I received an email from an attending in New Mexico who said that for the first time, he’s actually able to talk to his family about what he does. He can finally talk to his wife about a bad day and not feel like it’s going to be too heavy on her.”
Below, she opens up to Bazaar about mastering faux medical procedures, figuring out Mel’s second-season trajectory, and the ways she does—and doesn’t—resemble her character.
Full Article:
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a70093608/taylor-dearden-the-pitt-interview-2026/