(This story has been updated with comments from Tal Anderson on Instagram)
Southwest Florida’s Tal Anderson just landed her first-ever Emmy Awards nomination. The Cape Academy graduate is up for best guest actress for her role as Becca King, the young autistic sister of Taylor Dearden’s Mel King on the HBO hit “The Pitt.”
The medical drama swept the Emmy nominations, announced July 8, with a staggering 25 nominations for its second season. The show won three Emmys last year, including best drama.
The former Cape Coral resident is one of six actresses up for the award, including two more from “The Pitt.” The other nominees for best guest actress are:
The winners will be announced Sept. 14 during the 78th-annual Emmy Awards, airing live on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
Anderson — who grew up in Cape Coral and now lives in Los Angeles — plays the autistic, high-needs sister of ER doctor Mel King. That role expanded on the show’s second season, when Becca gets admitted for treatment at the Pittsburgh ER lovingly known as The Pitt.
Three days after the Emmy Awards announcement, Anderson wrote on Instagram that she was stunned by the nomination and still processing all the love and support she’s received from the Television Academy’s voting members, the entertainment industry, the cast and crew of “The Pitt,” her acting coach, the disabled community and her friends and family.
“It’s overwhelming,” she wrote. “Thank you everyone for everything. Having the opportunity to play Becca in this incredible show … has been the best experience and I’m so grateful.
“The Pitt is not just a show. It’s a team, and a family of ridiculously talented and committed people all collaborating to create something beautiful and impactful. It’s amazing — and I’ve gotten to be a part of it.”
Playing autistic characters on ‘Atypical’ and ‘The Pitt’
This wasn’t the first autistic character that Anderson has played on a hit TV show, though. The actor — who is herself on the autism spectrum — had her breakthrough role in 2019 as an autistic college student on the Netflix comedy-drama “Atypical.”
Anderson said she doesn’t specifically look for autistic roles. She just wants to find acting work. But she’s happy to play those characters in a more positive, realistic way than people often see from Hollywood.
“I like to play neurodivergent characters,” she told The News-Press/Naples Daily News in March, “because I can portray their perspective — usually from a place of shared, lived experiences. But also, I want those characters to have the opportunity to be played authentically by a neurodivergent actor.”
Anderson was diagnosed with autism when she was 4 years old, she said. But she rarely saw positive portrayals of people on the spectrum in TV shows or movies.
Now she’s doing what she can to change that.
“It’s important, in my opinion — as an autistic person, myself — being able to see someone in media who you can relate to, who makes you feel seen yourself, like you belong,” she said in March. “And, you know, not having that representation, especially for children, really has an effect on confidence and self-esteem.”
Growing up in Cape Coral, moving to Los Angeles
Anderson is a 2016 graduate of Cape Academy. She was born in New Orleans and moved to Cape Coral when she was 1 year old.
Before “Atypical,” she’d acted in independent short films and in two children’s theater productions at Fort Myers’ Florida Repertory Theatre.
She moved to Los Angeles in August 2018 after graduating from Florida’s Full Sail University with a bachelor of science degree in film.
She still has friends in Southwest Florida and visits occasionally, she said, but her Cape Coral parents and Fort Myers brothers have all followed her to Southern California.
“Around the end of 2021, my parents bought a house about 30 minutes away from me…” she said. “And my two brothers came with them. So everybody’s here now.”
How she plays Becca on ‘The Pitt’
In the first season of “The Pitt,” Anderson was only seen during video calls with her sister Mel. But that role expanded in season two, when Becca visits the ER and causes Mel some anxiety (especially after Becca reveals what she’s been up to while her sister works long shifts at the hospital).
Becca is autistic and has high support needs, Anderson said. So she can’t live independently.
“Becca doesn’t have a lot of resources available to her,” she said. “But she’s independent in the sense that, you know, she has plans for her life and she knows … what she wants, and she’s vocal and very, very clear about that.”
The two sisters have a tight relationship, she said, and they’re grateful to have each other. Anderson loves how the show highlights that relationship and the importance of family.
“They really are shining a light on important issues,” she said. “And Mel and Becca’s sister bond and relationship gets to be a highlight of the show. So I’m really, really grateful.”
Charles Runnells covers arts and entertainment for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 or email crunnells@usatodayco.com. Follow or message him on Facebook (@charles.runnells.7), Instagram (@crunnells1) and X (@CharlesRunnells).
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SW Florida’s Tal Anderson scores first Emmy nomination for ‘The Pitt’
Reporting by Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
