“I was hard on people”: the co-star Noah Wyle hated at first sight
Noah Wyle admitted to feeling competitive with his fellow actors during his first major television series.
When it comes to recent comeback roles from 1990s stars, Wyle’s resurgence with the HBO Max drama The Pitt is easily one of the most impressive. He has had a few interesting television roles in the last few decades, with Falling Skies and The Librarians, but he was still known to most as John Carter from ER.
Although it began in development as an ER reboot, The Pitt became a completely original series that examined the difficult role that emergency room medical staff faced during an era of healthcare controversy and post-Covid stresses. Thanks to the show’s real-time approach, in which every episode corresponds to an hour of a shift, it has both been praised by television pundits and admired by real medical practitioners who have highlighted its authenticity.
Wyle is a producer, director, writer, and the star of the series, and set a record by picking up all the major awards during last year’s Emmy, Actors Awards, Golden Globes, and Critics’ Choice cycle for his remarkable performance as Dr Robby. Even though there’s been a contentious lawsuit from the estate of Michael Crichton that alleges that The Pitt is based on ER, and thus owes credit, Wyle has been keen on creating a productive and positive working environment for his latest series.
Even though ER was considered to be one of the most groundbreaking shows of all time, he admits that the production wasn’t always easy, particularly after co-stars like George Clooney left to pursue film careers. Wyle stated that he had become protective of how he would compare to the new additions to the cast, including Goran Visnjic, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I had a chip on my shoulder with anybody that came on that show. I’ve systematically gone to and apologised to everybody over the years about being the person that I was.”
Wyle felt that, as the senior member of the cast, he had to set the tone of gravity needed to ensure that everyone was bringing their A-game. In hindsight, he realised that this may have made some of his co-stars uncomfortable. “It was not an easy environment to work in because we didn’t suffer fools,” he recalled, “We were really hard on people, and I was hard on people that were coming into the show, like Erik Palladino or Michael Michele. Everybody had to earn their keep, in my opinion, especially poor Kellie Martin. I owe her a big apology.”
Wyle learned to humble himself over the course of ER’s production, and learned a lot when he was given the chance to see what an incredible actor Visnjic had become.
“I realised that he was a way better actor than I was,” Wyle said, “He performed Hamlet in Dubrovnik in front of thousands of European screaming fans. He was the real deal. I hated him because I always felt like I was losing a scene to him.”
Although the actor has managed to make amends with co-stars from ER, the show has seemingly taken off in popularity once more due to how popular The Pitt has become. With the new show, Wyle has not only been given a chance to revive his career but to create a different workplace culture in which the cast is encouraged to be supportive of one another.
