In 2007, Harden appeared in several films, including Sean Penn's Into the Wild and Frank Darabont's The Mist (opposite Thomas Jane and Laurie Holden), based on the novella by Stephen King. She reprised the role in the series' eighth-season premiere and again in the 12th-season episode 'Penetration' as a rape victim (aired November 10, 2010). In 2007, this role earned Harden her first Emmy Award nomination for best guest actress in a drama series. Harden guest-starred as FBI undercover agent Dana Lewis posing as a white supremacist in 'Raw', an episode of the popular crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.