The Pitt Star Gerran Howell Had A Small Role In One Of The 21st Century's Best War Movies

Fans of the HBO Max series "The Pitt" will recognize actor Gerran Howell as Dr. Dennis Whitaker, the young fourth-year med student in Season 1, and inexperienced mentor in Season 2. Howell is a Welsh-born actor who got his professional start in 2006, appearing in a small role in the movie "Crusade in Jeans" and on the TV series "Casualty." He got his big break via the horror/comedy series "Young Dracula," playing the eponymous 13-year-old Count. He appeared in all 66 episodes of the 5-season series, which overlapped with his appearances on the sci-fi series "The Sparticle Mystery." That show has a fun premise, as a particle accelerator accidentally snapped up everyone on Earth over the age of 15 and inserted them into a parallel universe. The kids back on Earth have to figure out the problem themselves. 

Howell's career continued apace, landing film and TV jobs seemingly as they came. He played Jack on the oddball "Wizard of Oz" redux "Emerald City." That's the Tarsem Singh TV series, not to be confused with "Tin Man" or "Wicked" or any of the other Oz reduxes of recent vintage. Jack is the character who will eventually become Jack Pumpkinhead. 

Howell's highest-profile pre-"Pitt" job came in 2019 when he had a tiny role in Sam Mendes' ambitious World War I drama "1917." For those who don't recall, "1917" was shot to make it look like it was a single, unbroken take, and (some bouts of unconsciousness notwithstanding) was told almost entirely in real time. "1917" was a huge Oscar darling at the time, racking up 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. Roger Deakins won an Oscar for his cinematography, and it also won Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects. 

"1917" takes place specifically during Operation Alberich, and follows the plight of two British soldiers (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) as they trek through dangerous territory to deliver an important message to a distant British commander. The camera always stays close behind them, and they see explosions, gunfire, and many, many, many dead bodies. The date is April 6, 1917, and British aerial intelligence has just learned that a recent German retreat was actually a mere strategic withdrawal. The Germans are preparing to attack on another front, and the British on that front are about to be overwhelmed.

The battlefield phones are down, and the only way to get this information to the distant platoon is in person and on foot. The two protagonist soldiers have to hurry across miles of battlefields to deliver the message. The film is bleak, intense, and immediate, relating the visceral terror of the soldier's experience. It ostensibly depicts an act of bravery, but it feels like a march of death, a headlong rush into the Hell that is war. "1917" is an astonishing motion picture. 

Along the way, the two leads run into a few soldiers, including a youthful character named Private Parry. That's the one played by Gerran Howell. He doesn't have a huge role, but some might recognize him. 

That same year, Howell moved from World War I to World War II, starring as Kid Samson in the TV miniseries version of "Catch-22" opposite star/director George Clooney. It was his work in "Catch-22" that caught Clooney's eye, and it was Clooney (at least according to "Pitt" star Noah Wyle) who recommended Howell for his role on the 2025 medical drama. The rest is history.