Speaker 1: Imagine the Whitehead sounded so good. I can let that
Speaker 1: thing ride. I love the long version.
Speaker 2: It goes like twelve minutes. I just let it ride
Speaker 2: and to ride, they sound so good. As you know
Speaker 2: around here, when we have a guest in studio, we
Speaker 2: let them choose their walk on song, and this is
Speaker 2: the song chosen by mister Ernest Harden Junior.
Speaker 1: And when he walked in the studio, we gave each
Speaker 1: other the biggest and longest hug.
Speaker 2: I have not seen this brother in years, but we
Speaker 2: used to hang out many, many years ago. And when
Speaker 2: I saw the news that he'd been Emmy nominated for
Speaker 2: his role on the Pit, I'll tell you more about
Speaker 2: it in just a second, I just smiled ear to
Speaker 2: ear and I am so grateful. I told my staff.
Speaker 2: They get surprised. I've been at this for so long.
Speaker 2: My staff gets tickled. All the folk I know, all
Speaker 2: the places I've done, all the things I have been
Speaker 2: exposed to. But I've been at this for thirty five years, right,
Speaker 2: and so I've just met so many people, and sometimes
Speaker 2: I run into people. We just just grinted each other
Speaker 2: at the ways that we've been blessed over the decade.
Speaker 1: And Ernest Harden Jr.
Speaker 2: Has stayed with this acting thing for all these years,
Speaker 2: and I am so just thrilled that he is now
Speaker 2: an Emmy nominee. He is Immy nominated for his Outstanding
Speaker 2: guest appearance on the HBO Max hit medical drama The Pit.
Speaker 2: And before I get into the conversation with him, let
Speaker 2: me give you a little taste of this role for
Speaker 2: which he's Immy nominated.
Speaker 3: What's up with you, tooth lily?
Speaker 4: That's been going on for a while, but it got
Speaker 4: bad last night, layd left side.
Speaker 5: Ah h ah.
Speaker 3: It could be an infection at the room. We can
Speaker 3: drain it, but then you're your breathing kind of fast.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've been well. I've been h walking more, trying
Speaker 4: to get in shape. Sometimes like I get a little
Speaker 4: short of breath.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you need to walk past the liquor store, not
Speaker 3: into it. Well shape your getting it's for liver transplant.
Speaker 5: I don't need a new liver. Just get rid of
Speaker 5: this Tuesday deep.
Speaker 2: First of all, The Pit is one of the hottest
Speaker 2: shows on television. I'm a brag for a second. I
Speaker 2: have a barber. My barber in LA's got naim d.
Speaker 2: We call him d the barber. D the barber is
Speaker 2: the hair guy on the TV show The Pit, So
Speaker 2: shout out to my barber d Uh for his amazing
Speaker 2: work on that particular show. But everybody's watching this show,
Speaker 2: everybody's talking about it.
Speaker 1: Ernest Harden Jr.
Speaker 2: You are no an Emmy nominee for your outstanding guest
Speaker 2: appearance on the show. So first of all, congratulations, man,
Speaker 2: I'm so.
Speaker 1: Happy for you.
Speaker 5: Oh, thank you so much. Man. You know it's myove
Speaker 5: to be here. Man.
Speaker 4: We just man, I've been watching you and doing your
Speaker 4: thing for years, and I'm just so proud of you
Speaker 4: every time.
Speaker 5: You know, I'm just your biggest fan.
Speaker 2: Man. That's it's a mutual admiration society. Then tell me
Speaker 2: about this particular role. How it came to be.
Speaker 4: Well, I tell you, you know, I auditioned for it,
Speaker 4: like so many actitudes nowadays since COVID they have to
Speaker 4: send in your audition tape. They seem to like me,
Speaker 4: and they called me in to read and I read
Speaker 4: for another role and I thought.
Speaker 5: It was a nice role.
Speaker 4: It was the role of a black man talking to
Speaker 4: a young white doctor and giving him an encouragement and
Speaker 4: telling him because he's the first doctor in their family.
Speaker 4: How proud he was of him, and how proud this
Speaker 4: parent parents should be. Well, I thought that role was great,
Speaker 4: and they they When I got home, my manager called
Speaker 4: me and said, they love you. I said, oh, fantastic. Yeah,
Speaker 4: they want you to play a different role than they
Speaker 4: want you to be the drunk. I said, oh, man,
Speaker 4: another drunk black man, here we go. But then they
Speaker 4: said that, but this guy is going to be like
Speaker 4: a semi regular. I said, so give me something to drink,
Speaker 4: you know. But the thing is the way I approached though.
Speaker 4: I'm a member of the Actress Studio and they're renowned.
Speaker 4: Albertino runs it in New York. Martin Landau before it died,
Speaker 4: was ahead of it out here, and we go deep.
Speaker 4: We some of us feel that, I mean a lot
Speaker 4: of us feel that we're the best actors.
Speaker 1: In the world.
Speaker 4: We go beyond what everybody else does. And I mean
Speaker 4: some of the members I start with Martin Landau, Sally Fields,
Speaker 4: Robert de Niro, Albatino, these are people, remember, and I'm
Speaker 4: a lifetime member. So I said, let me make this
Speaker 4: role as real as possible.
Speaker 5: Let me just.
Speaker 4: Try to be because alcoholism is serious. A lot of
Speaker 4: people are addicted to it, and so I came with
Speaker 4: that approach and they allowed me to do it. It
Speaker 4: wasn't just the yeah, you got a good smile or something.
Speaker 4: Let's just be the comic relief. No, I want you.
Speaker 4: I wanted to be real, and that's what happened, and
Speaker 4: it took off that way. I appreciate them for like,
Speaker 4: just give me that space to work and do what
Speaker 4: I wanted.
Speaker 5: And I don't know you want to.
Speaker 1: No, no, no no.
Speaker 2: I wanted to ask you right quick here when you
Speaker 2: mentioned and I've heard the story from many other actors
Speaker 2: that you know certainly in the COVID era you had
Speaker 2: to send in your audition tapes, right, that's when it
Speaker 2: starts exactly. So let me just tell you this. This
Speaker 2: won't surprise you. I'm in this studio every day for
Speaker 2: three hours doing my national radio show, and I always
Speaker 2: always prefer that you come in studio if you can.
Speaker 2: It just makes a difference when you in my face
Speaker 2: and you and I are friends from way back, wins.
Speaker 6: I just want to see your face and give you
Speaker 6: a hug. I'm glad you came here.
Speaker 2: But even if we want friends, I prefer people coming
Speaker 2: in studio for all the obvious reasons.
Speaker 1: I can't imagine.
Speaker 2: Again, I've done TV my whole career, as you know,
Speaker 2: so I know how to do satellite interviews.
Speaker 1: I've done more than that, more than that, more of
Speaker 1: that than I can count.
Speaker 2: But I prefer in studio. What is it like trying
Speaker 2: to win an audition when you got to record yourself
Speaker 2: at home?
Speaker 1: That seems so weird. I understand why they do it,
Speaker 1: but it just seems.
Speaker 2: Like so impersonal to me that you can't lean in,
Speaker 2: look somebody in the eye and show them how gifted
Speaker 2: you really are.
Speaker 4: And that is actually an advantage to have us come in.
Speaker 4: But what happened is once they started submitting these tapes
Speaker 4: and the people didn't really even have to get off
Speaker 4: the space.
Speaker 5: They just set up there and looked at TV. It
Speaker 5: was a lot cheaper for them.
Speaker 4: Sure, but you're right, that's why, Like after they looked
Speaker 4: at my tape, the tape moved them that they brought
Speaker 4: me in to audition in front of people, and it
Speaker 4: was and that's when they connected.
Speaker 1: But but but now you've got to be creative on tape.
Speaker 5: You know what? The advantage there's a bit disadvantage and
Speaker 5: an advantage.
Speaker 4: Disadvantage is right, you don't have that personal connection with them,
Speaker 4: but the advantages you get to try it and do
Speaker 4: it to you feel that is wrong, So it's it's
Speaker 4: it's a two it's a twofold thing.
Speaker 1: So as many takes as you need, and it takes
Speaker 1: you need.
Speaker 4: But you know what, I go to a studio that
Speaker 4: does it and uh and she's charging.
Speaker 5: So like I tried to get mine right.
Speaker 1: But that's that's another discivent.
Speaker 6: Not you got you gotta pay for your auditions.
Speaker 4: Well not everybody does it. Some people do it at home.
Speaker 4: But you know, I really want him to make sure
Speaker 4: his quality. Yeah, yeah, so you know I am hard
Speaker 4: and right man. He is Ernest Hart Jr.
Speaker 2: Now he's Ernest hard junior Emmy nominee that will follow
Speaker 2: him hopefully Emmy Wimmer, Emmy winner, but Emmy nominee will
Speaker 2: follow him. That's why I love get nominated. It follows
Speaker 2: you the rest of your life. Emmy nominee Ernest Harden Jr.
Speaker 2: I was watching The Jeffersons the other night and all,
Speaker 2: and I love seeing Ernest Harden Jr. On those episodes
Speaker 2: of the Jeffersons. We're talking about his career a bit
Speaker 2: more than we come forward here on Tavis Smiley, Ernest
Speaker 2: Hard and Jr. He and I just catching up on
Speaker 2: old times again. Life just in the way sometimes, and
Speaker 2: I've been off doing my thing and he's been doing
Speaker 2: his thing, and I've been watching him on the screen,
Speaker 2: big screen, in small screen for years now. He's watching
Speaker 2: me on television, listening on the radio. So it's just
Speaker 2: somebody said it was an easter ray. I'm rooting for
Speaker 2: everybody black. I'm rooting for everybody black. And it's just
Speaker 2: good when your friends get the respect and honor that
Speaker 2: they deserve.
Speaker 5: You.
Speaker 2: You've been a long distance runner at this man. I
Speaker 2: was just teasing you earlier saying I still watched The
Speaker 2: Jeffersons and I love seeing you on The Jeffersons. And
Speaker 2: when I saw again that you had received the semi
Speaker 2: nomination for your role on the Pit, it was just
Speaker 2: a just a feeling of joy.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: I appreciate that, man, you know. Yeah, the Jeffersons was
Speaker 4: I started doing The Jeffersons nineteen seventy six, so how
Speaker 4: long does.
Speaker 5: Ago was that? And before that?
Speaker 4: I actually started when I got out of Biscus State
Speaker 4: Misigan State University.
Speaker 5: I got out with a degree in theater the Spartans Spartans,
Speaker 5: and we went to New York. I went to New York.
Speaker 4: I was tough in it in New York, you know,
Speaker 4: doing just everything I could stand on people's flow words,
Speaker 4: and I got to And then I finally got a
Speaker 4: break in a movie called Three Days at the Condor,
Speaker 4: which became a classic with Robert Redford and Fate Dunaway.
Speaker 4: And that that movie gave me my sad card. And
Speaker 4: I got to be kind of cool with Robert Redford too.
Speaker 5: After that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, legendary.
Speaker 5: I made that. It's funny.
Speaker 4: I didn't understand at the time how big that movie
Speaker 4: was gonna get, but it became a classic. My name
Speaker 4: is the last name on the credits teenager. So yeah,
Speaker 4: so I've been then from there, I was in UH.
Speaker 4: I got a screen test for to make things quick.
Speaker 4: I got a screen test for a show, a movie
Speaker 4: called Apocalypse Now which flew ball and and the two
Speaker 4: guys were on the plane that were up for the roll.
Speaker 5: He got it. I didn't. And this name is Lawrence
Speaker 5: Fishburne the rest of his history. But but I I
Speaker 5: stayed out.
Speaker 4: I said, let me go to LA and get a
Speaker 4: little film of myself, more film so I can do
Speaker 4: rolls in on theater in the theater a little bit,
Speaker 4: you know, they weren't just having me in the back
Speaker 4: round or something.
Speaker 5: Maybe be a little bit more recognized.
Speaker 4: And I got a co commercial and then I got
Speaker 4: a role called on The Jeffersons as Jason King, not
Speaker 4: Marcus Henderson, Jason King and I did that and they
Speaker 4: liked me so much because they liked the chemistry between
Speaker 4: me and Sherman Sherman Himsley that they called me before
Speaker 4: it even aired to say, we want to give you
Speaker 4: a series, but we're going to give it to you
Speaker 4: on air, and come in look at the script. I
Speaker 4: looked at the script and I was in the producers
Speaker 4: off and he says, wow, how you like the script?
Speaker 4: I didn't see Jason anywhere. I said, gosh, if I
Speaker 4: guess they started me off really small.
Speaker 5: I was happy to be there, though, you know they
Speaker 5: changed the characters. Yeah, but they changed. I didn't realize.
Speaker 4: They said, well, Marcus, you got your work cut out
Speaker 4: for you. And I said, Marcus and marks on every page.
Speaker 4: I said, oh my god, be careful what you asked for, you.
Speaker 1: Might get it. And that's whe we know you as
Speaker 1: Marcus on the gym.
Speaker 5: I did.
Speaker 4: Hey, the rest is history because I didn't go to
Speaker 4: sleep that week. I thought the sleep was overrated. I
Speaker 4: studied and hey, are you right? The rest is history.
Speaker 2: I'm just laughing because everybody remembers what they got their
Speaker 2: sad card for.
Speaker 1: I don't care what after you talk to how long.
Speaker 2: Have you been in the business, everybody remembers that thing
Speaker 2: that got them their SATs.
Speaker 5: Right, that is right, It's a great story.
Speaker 1: Ernest Harden Jr. For more minutes with him.
Speaker 2: He is Emmy nominated now for his outstanding against appearance
Speaker 2: on the hit HBO Max medical drama The Pit, starring
Speaker 2: Noah Wiley. The Pit has like what twenty five or
Speaker 2: twenty six Emmy nominations this time around. It's a big deal.
Speaker 2: And Ernest Harden Junior's one up and I ain't mad
Speaker 2: at him. You're listening to Tavis smile and Ernest Harden Jr.
Speaker 2: Emmy nominated for his role on The Pit. I only
Speaker 2: got four minutes left here, but I know this story
Speaker 2: because I read about it in advance of your coming
Speaker 2: in you went off your maage.
Speaker 1: I'll let you tell the story right quick.
Speaker 4: Oh well, what happened was be being a member of
Speaker 4: the Actors Studio like people like Marlon Brand, knowing everybody
Speaker 4: we don't play Dustin Hoffman, and I knew that there
Speaker 4: was a ten month span between the first season and
Speaker 4: the second season, and so what would this brother be
Speaker 4: like on the street with no medical attention for ten months.
Speaker 4: So instead of trying to get better shape and all that,
Speaker 4: I just let myself go and went off my meds.
Speaker 4: And I had a doctor's name is Eugene Allen who
Speaker 4: was kind of monitoring me throughout the process, but the
Speaker 4: company didn't know, and so I was using all of that.
Speaker 4: I started feeling I was having a tough time breathing
Speaker 4: in the morning, a lot of stuff, and I used
Speaker 4: every bit of it in this care.
Speaker 1: You take your acting really seriously.
Speaker 4: Right, Well, like I said, actor stereo, people go deep,
Speaker 4: and I went deep, but I know it was dangerously deep,
Speaker 4: and I don't think I ever do that again.
Speaker 5: But you used all of that to use all that.
Speaker 4: As a matter of fact, someone said that they taught
Speaker 4: medical students and they used clips of me to show
Speaker 4: what it would be like if they got they had
Speaker 4: similar conditions.
Speaker 5: So I was very proud of that.
Speaker 2: You know, how, how does I got a couple minute left?
Speaker 2: He How does it feel to be a journeyman actor?
Speaker 1: I can call you that.
Speaker 2: You've done so many things big screen, small screen, a
Speaker 2: journeyman actor, and at this point of your career you
Speaker 2: get an Emmy nomination.
Speaker 4: You know it's the Emmy is Like I said before,
Speaker 4: I never thought about Emmy in the forefront of my mind.
Speaker 5: I always thought I.
Speaker 4: Would hold up something in Oscar for the mean eventually,
Speaker 4: but just to see the the respect and the just
Speaker 4: how people just revere having an Emmy nomination.
Speaker 6: Everybody's calling you. I'm sure your phone's from.
Speaker 5: Blowing up the head of Warner Brothers to the head
Speaker 5: of hb Old, I.
Speaker 4: Mean, the head of the pit. Everybody's called House of
Speaker 4: the what. Okay, But it's been phenomenal and it's spend
Speaker 4: such a tidal wave and a jobeyush ride and hopefully
Speaker 4: I can ride it out to a win.
Speaker 5: We're just having a ball.
Speaker 2: No, you deserve it, man, you deserve it. You have
Speaker 2: earned it. You're part of a great cast on a
Speaker 2: great show.
Speaker 4: They're my family, especially WI. That's I just wanted to
Speaker 4: put it out. He's not only just a great actor,
Speaker 4: he's a great human being.
Speaker 2: Yeah he's I've only met him once, but he's an
Speaker 2: amazing actor in this series especially, And they are blessed
Speaker 2: to have you. You're blessed to be a part of
Speaker 2: this series. They're gonna get They're gonna wrack up some wins.
Speaker 2: I can guarantee you. They got twenty six nominations. They're
Speaker 2: gonna wrack up a few wins on the night of
Speaker 2: the show.
Speaker 1: But one of those.
Speaker 2: Nominees is my friend and brother who I'm glad to
Speaker 2: be reacquainted with, Ernest Harden Jr. I said at the
Speaker 2: top in the middle, and I said it again at
Speaker 2: the end. I am proud of him. I am happy
Speaker 2: for him. He has earned it, he deserves it. He
Speaker 2: is Emmy nominated for his Outstanding Guest Appearance on the
Speaker 2: HBO Max hit.
Speaker 1: Medical drama The Pit.
Speaker 2: And we'll be watching the Emmy's areas on September the
Speaker 2: fourteenth on NBC Streaming Live.
Speaker 1: I'm on peacock.
Speaker 6: I'm gonna be watching for show for show this year
Speaker 6: to see how this all works out.
Speaker 1: For Ernest, but whatever happens, you a winner.
Speaker 5: Brother. Thank you so much and I love you. I
Speaker 5: love you too.
Speaker 2: Good to see you just like that three hours ago,
Speaker 2: and we're back here tomorrow. Little wouldn't to do it
Speaker 2: all over again until tomorrow. Thanks for listening to Tavis
Speaker 2: Smiley and as always, keep the faith