Ernest Harden Jr.’s first Emmy nomination has him looking back at the Hollywood legend who gave him one of the biggest breaks of his career 46 years earlier, Bette Davis.
The Pitt actor told Entertainment Weekly that Davis personally chose him to costar with her in the 1980 television movie White Mama. Harden did not have to audition, an especially striking reversal after he had just learned that his scenes had been cut from another television film.
Their relationship continued well beyond casting. Harden recalled Davis staying past her scheduled wrap time to help him complete a difficult scene, inviting him over for holidays and becoming so close to him that he said she was “actually like my mother.”
Now Harden is nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for playing Louie Cloverfield on The Pitt. The role itself was another unexpected turn. He originally auditioned for a different character and initially had reservations when producers instead wanted him to play Louie.
The Call From Bette Davis Came After a Career Disappointment
Harden was already working regularly by 1980, with credits including Three Days of the Condor and a recurring role as Marcus on The Jeffersons. But he had just experienced a major disappointment when his scenes were cut entirely from the 1979 television movie Buffalo Soldiers.
Then his friend Dorian Harewood arrived with an unexpected message. Bette Davis wanted to meet him. Harden initially thought Harewood was joking because of how discouraged he was over the previous setback. Harewood, who had appeared onstage with Davis in Miss Moffat, assured him the invitation was real.
The meeting took place at Davis’ apartment at the Colonial House in West Hollywood. Harden recalled being surprised by how modestly the Hollywood legend lived, then realizing during their conversation that this was more than an introductory meeting.
Davis began discussing who could direct “us.” “And I’m thinking, ‘Us?!'” Harden told EW. That was when he understood she had already decided she wanted him opposite her. “Bottom line is, she picked me,” Harden said. “I never had to read a script before I got cast. That was the first time I got cast on anything without auditioning.”
He remembered leaving the apartment feeling transformed by the experience. “I felt like a big star, and I floated out of that apartment,” he said.
Davis Stayed Past Her Contracted Wrap Time for Harden
White Mama paired Davis with Harden in the story of an elderly widow struggling financially who takes in a troubled teenage boy. Harden approached the production knowing he was acting opposite one of Hollywood’s most celebrated performers and said he tried to absorb as much as possible from her.
“I just wanted to be on par with Davis or do the best I could,” he told EW. “And she admired that.” One filming day became a particularly vivid example of Davis’ commitment to him.
Harden said Davis had a contractual provision allowing her to finish work by 5 p.m. She had already put on her coat and was preparing to leave when she noticed Harden was about to shoot his closeups while acting opposite a script supervisor instead of his actual scene partner.
According to Harden, Davis stopped, removed her coat and stayed for approximately another hour and a half so he could perform the scene opposite her. “She just was about the work, and I really admired that,” he said.
Directed by Jackie Cooper, White Mama premiered on CBS on March 5, 1980. Davis’ performance earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Special, according to the Television Academy records.
Harden Says Davis Became ‘Actually Like My Mother’
“Her playing my mother, she got into it so much that she was actually like my mother,” Harden told EW. He said Davis invited him over around holidays, including Thanksgiving, and that the two remained close enough to discuss working together again.
“She would come on holidays, maybe Thanksgiving, cook me Thanksgiving dinner and invite me over, all that, so we became really tight,” Harden recalled. They hoped to make other films together, but those plans never came to fruition before Davis’ death in 1989.
For Harden, however, the relationship gave him a rare opportunity early in his career to experience Hollywood through the perspective of one of its biggest stars. “We had a great connection,” he said.
The ‘Pitt’ Role He Hesitated Over Became His First Emmy Nomination
View this post on Instagram
Decades later, Harden nearly went in another direction when he auditioned for The Pitt. In a SLUG Magazine interview, Harden said he originally submitted a tape for a different role and thought the audition had gone well.
Then his manager called. “They like you, but they want you to do another role,” Harden recalled being told. That role was Louie Cloverfield, an unhoused patient struggling with alcoholism who became a recurring presence at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.
Harden initially hesitated over what he feared could become a stereotypical portrayal. “And I’m thinking, another Black man, just drunk. I give up,” he recalled. He decided to approach Louie’s alcoholism seriously. “I’m not gonna be just a smiling drunk,” Harden said. “I want this guy to be as real as possible, because alcoholism is the real deal.”
The response to Louie ultimately validated that decision for Harden. He told SLUG Magazine that he heard from people affected by alcoholism as well as people who had cared for patients struggling with it. “It affected so many people,” he said.
That performance has now earned Harden his first Emmy nomination. The Television Academy lists Harden among the 2026 nominees for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Louie in The Pitt episode “7:00 A.M.” The Pitt leads the 2026 Emmy field with 25 nominations, including multiple acting nominations across the drama categories. The 78th Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be held Sept. 5 and 6.