Meet ‘The Pitt’’s Luke Tennie, the Newest—and Chillest—Doc on the Night Shift

This story contains minor spoilers for this week’s episode of The Pitt.

Luke Tennie is everywhere right now. On Apple TV, he’s wrapping up the third season of Shrinking as Sean, a former soldier (and current food-truck chef) navigating tenuous relationships with his father and ex-girlfriend. On ABC, he’s finishing up his first year at Abbott Elementary as Dominic, a new fourth-grade teacher learning the ropes from Janine (Quinta Brunson). And on HBO this week, Tennie is scrubbing into The Pitt as senior resident Crus Henderson, a night shift doctor navigating a worn-down ER. As someone recently commented on his Instagram, Tennie’s career has turned into “an awards-season bingo card.”

“I could not be happier driving past the Warner Brothers lot, seeing three posters of three iconic television shows, and considering the fact that I’m a part of each of these,” Tennie said on a recent Zoom call. “I’m eternally grateful. I don’t know where my career can go from here. I feel like I’m tapped out.”

At least on The Pitt, there’s no time for exhaustion. When Henderson shows up in “7:00,” the night shift has integrated with the beleaguered day shift, the hospital’s computer system begins to work again, and more emergencies await. Within his first hour, the Harvard-educated physician helps a collapsed-lung patient, diagnoses two fractures with ultrasound, and offers to help Dr. Mohan with her fellowship application. The ER may feel like an overwhelmed disaster zone, but Henderson seems unbothered, injecting a welcome dose of calm and confidence into the stressed-out masses.

It’s the same kind of vibe Tennie gives off throughout our conversation—kind but assured, warm but focused, chill but eager to discuss his experience parachuting into numerous hit shows. Not too long ago, he was just happy to pay rent with his acting checks. Now, as he’s become a father to two girls and leveled up into a series regular, opposite stars such as Harrison Ford and Noah Wyle, he’s shifted his priorities and goals. “I’m an ambitious dude,” Tennie says. “I want to be in the next Ryan Coogler movie and win an Oscar, kick it with MBJ, and talk about how much we all miss our legendary performers whose shoulders we stand on.”

The minute you show up on The Pitt, the hospital’s computer system comes back online. Is that a coincidence?

I thought about that, too! Crus is written as somebody with this calming demeanor. He’s actually based off of a real doctor that [writer and on-set doctor] Joe Sachs knows. He was like, “This is the chillest guy I’ve ever met.” Maybe Crus stepping onto the scene provided some sort of ease that the system needed to reboot [laughing].

How do you remember feeling the first time you walked on the set of The Pitt?

Oh, man. I’m just happy to be here. I don’t want to be an anchor. I want to make sure everything goes smoothly. I don’t want to mess up my lines. I don’t want to be the reason they say, “Cut, let’s take it from the top.” I was overprepped with my lines for that day and I just experienced this gratitude. The coolest thing about being a fan of TV and film and then seeing a set like that is when you get to say, “Yeah, it looks exactly like it does on screen.” And here I am in that place that I’ve admired for so long. Walking into that hospital room was one of the highlights of my career.