Walking the red carpet at the 2026 Emmys, The Pitt's Patrick Ball couldn't help but wonder how he'd reached this full circle moment.
Because before the 36-year-old was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series thanks to his work on HBO's must-watch medical series, he was scrubbing in for another of the network's hit shows.
"I was nowhere close to that important," the North Carolina native joked in an exclusive interview with Keltie Knight during Live From E!: 2026 Emmys of working as a wardrobe production assistant for And Just Like That in 2024, two years after graduating from Yale's drama school.
But while he wasn't necessarily selecting the Manolo Blahniks Sarah Jessica Parker would slide into to reprise her role as Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City spinoff, he added at the Sept. 14 event, "My job was to take the shoppers who were going around from store to store buying shoes for Carrie Bradshaw and buying the outfits and everything."
While the set costumers were looking for the perfect stilettos, real stilettos, ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t-live-without-each-other shoes, "I was the production assistant that was driving the car," Ball explained. "So I would just drive the car from store to store and carry the boxes and stuff."
Which means should he run into series alum Cynthia Nixon inside the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live during the Mariska Hargitay-hosted event, he joked, "I have pictures of her shoebox!"
As for the prognosis for his career, it's improved dramatically, Ball thisclose to leaving the business before landing on The Pitt.
So, does he have advice for anyone who still may be struggling? Abso-f--king-lutely.
"Keep going," he stressed to E! News, "keep believing, just know that what's meant for you will find you. Trust the timing of your life."
Because a scant few years after he was a glorified chauffeur, he's now firmly in the driver's seat. See how he, and countless other celebrities, rocked the Emmys red carpet.
Zendaya
in custom Prada and Mikimoto jewelry.
Selena Gomez
in Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
Ayo Edebiri
in Chanel and Mikimoto jewelry.
Mariska Hargitay
in Monse and Stuart Weitzman shoes.
Noah Wyle
in custom Brunello Cucinelli and Cartier watch.
Nicole Kidman
in Chanel and OMEGA watch.
Elle Fanning
in Ralph Lauren and Cartier jewelry.
Dakota Fanning
in Carolina Herrera and Swarovski jewelry.
Kristen Bell
in Alberta Ferretti.
Shailene Woodley
in Balenciaga.
Julia Garner
in Loewe and Marco Bicego jewelry.
Florence Pugh
in Vivienne Westwood.
Colman Domingo
in custom Valentino and OMEGA watch.
Kaley Cuoco & Tom Pelphrey
in Christian Siriano (Cuoco) and Giorgio Armani (Pelphrey).
Julianne Hough
in Antonio Grimaldi.
Sarah Pidgeon
in Chanel.
Michael Urie
in Christian Siriano and Azza Fahmy jewelry.
Allison Janney
in Pamella Roland and Sabyasachi.
Emilia Clarke
in Prada.
John Mulaney & Olivia Munn
in Brunello Cucinelli (Mulaney) and FFORME (Munn).
Michelle Pfeiffer
in Saint Laurent.
Oscar Isaac
in Celine.
Jessica Williams
in Honor, Tyler Ellis bag, and Jessica McCormack jewelry.
Harrison Ford & Calista Flockhart
in custom Paul Smith (Ford) and Zuhair Murad (Flockhart).
Sterling K. Brown
in Brunello Cucinelli.
Ryan Michelle Bathe
in Lia Stublia and Martin Katz jewelry.
Lisa Kudrow
in Celine.
Paul Anthony Kelly
in Louis Vuitton and Vacheron Constantin watch.
Sally Field
in Akris.
Chase Infiniti
in Louis Vuitton and Hearts on Fire jewelry.