‘The Pitt’s’ Katherine LaNasa Teases ‘Tougher’ Nurse Dana in Season 2 (Exclusive)

“Extra” was on the set of “The Pitt” with Katherine LaNasa, who just received her first Emmy nomination for her role as Nurse Dana. 

She reacted to the honor, saying, “It feels wonderful. It’s really a surprise. You know, it’s something I thought maybe had passed me by.”

Katherine teased some of what’s in store for Season 2, saying, “It takes place over the Fourth of July.”

Katherine said we’ll see a changed Dana, saying she will be “tougher, a little bit less willing to bend over backwards for people starting out. A little bit gun shy, a little bit more boundaries.”

She added, “Even the new Dana that we see coming back will also transform over the season.”

LaNasa is a breast cancer survivor — she finished treatment a year before getting this role — and she also shared how her experiences fed into how she plays Dana.

She said following treatment, “I just kept having to go back to the ER. And my worst day was really saved emotionally by an ER nurse that just pulled me aside and was like, ‘You know, the first six months after cancer are really the hardest and it’s not going to stay like this. What can I do for you?’ And just that gesture, and I believed her, it really fed into how I play… I was really grateful that I could put that into Dana and honor them in that way.”

Katherine reflected, “For it to all to be of use, that whole journey to be of use into playing this role and then for the role to get recognized is really just a testament to faith, I think.”