Noah Wyle really loves Hollywood.
The actor, a third-generation Angelino, grew up just north of Hollywood Boulevard and has taken thousands of steps over the stars on the Walk of Fame.
“There was a point in time where I had blocks and blocks of those names memorized, and I could do them with my eyes closed,” he says. “I’d look at those names and want to know more about them. I’d read their biographies. I’m a product of this town. I’m a product of this industry, and even though it’s sort of an antiquated pageantry, I’ve always wanted to be part of it.”
His childhood memories stretch up and down the boulevard: “My playground was that stretch of Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea and Highland initially, and then extended to Vine. And my churches were the Egyptian, the Chinese, the Pacific. I lived in those movie theaters. Those were my babysitters. It’s lovely to be part of that.”
Wyle got his start in acting during his sophomore year of high school, auditioning for a play as a bit of a joke. The play got him out of study hall and there was a pretty girl in the cast — so he was in. And he was good.
“I fell in love with being complimented for doing a good job in a play, and then fell in love with that feeling of being complimented for something that I was good at, and that opened up this curiosity about acting, and then I began to fall in love with it for its own merits,” he says. “After the show, a parent of a kid that went to the school came up to me and said, ‘You were very good.’ I thought, ‘Oh yeah?’”
“Very good” is an understatement.
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Wyle will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 9 for his many accomplishments — mostly in TV, currently on HBO hit “The Pitt.” He’s taken home two Emmys for the show — one for his leading role, the other for executive producing.
“Noah is in a class of his own. He is a perfect embodiment of what drive, passion and an unwavering dedication to one’s craft can achieve,” says Channing Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, which produces “The Pitt.” “He has made a lasting impact on this business through his memorable performances as some of the most iconic characters on television. We at Warner Bros. are honored to have worked with him throughout his remarkable career, and it’s wonderful to see his legacy celebrated and cemented in Hollywood history.”
The longtime actor has a unique connection with each of his co-stars, but one that stands out (especially on TikTok) is his relationship with Shawn Hatosy.
The pair have known each other for a long time, coming into the business at the same time and both working with “The Pitt” executive producer John Wells.
“Familiarity without intimacy was a really nice way of setting this table for us — and professional mutual respect,” says Wyle. “He brings out a little bit of a brother vibe in me. I want to play with him. I want to tease him. I want to physicalize with him. It’s an energy that lends itself to experimentation and improvisation. He’s so creative, and he’s not a precious actor. We have a lot of fun just riffing off each other. He’s a really beautiful guy. I really enjoy working with him, and it doesn’t hurt that the entire internet wants to have chemistry with Shawn Hatosy.”
It’s easy to say that the feeling is mutual for Hatosy, who both guest stars on and directs episodes of “The Pitt.”
“Noah’s instincts as a leader match his instincts as an actor: you can count on him in any scenario, and he never asks anyone to do something he wouldn’t do himself,” says Hatosy. “When people ask what it’s like to direct him, I think of that Doug Collins quote about Michael Jordan: ‘Just give him the ball and get out of his way.’”
Wyle’s love for Hollywood is personal and runs deep, just as his love for Warner Bros., as the company that produced both “ER” and “The Pitt.” Amid the recent Paramount acquisition, he’s trying to stay positive and reminds himself that “this is a town that’s predicated on change.”
“If there’s any concern, it comes from being a three union card holder who works with a lot of different people in this town who are looking at it very simply — fewer streamers, fewer studios, fewer networks, fewer shows, fewer paychecks,” he says. “It’s not good for membership. It might be good for shareholders, but it’s not good for labor, and that’s been an age-old battle.”
Best known for his dramatic roles, Wyle is also very funny. Somehow, in his 37-year career, he’s yet to host “Saturday Night Live,” although he did once show up as a guest in a 2000 episode hosted by Julianna Margulies.
“I think I’ve just been having a 37-year audition for Lorne [Michaels],” he says of the “SNL” creator and producer. “Maybe in my 38th year. I did this little sketch for Jimmy Kimmel a couple of months ago. I’m like, does someone want to maybe send it over to 30 Rock? Slip it into the old mailbox?”
The sense of humor may be why there are rumors online that he auditioned for the role of Ross Geller in “Friends” — it’s not true. “My memory is a little spotty, but I would remember auditioning for ‘Friends,’” he says. “I had a little snobbery about doing TV.”
He used to tell his agent he would only do movies or plays. Then he read the two-hour pilot script for “ER,” not realizing it wasn’t a feature, since it was written by novelist Michael Crichton (“Jurassic Park,” “Sphere,” and many other bestsellers).
“I thought it was a movie, so I auditioned for it. When I found out it was a show, I didn’t really care, because I thought, it’s so good, they’re going to cancel it. There’s no way this is going to last,” he says. “But I kind of turned my nose up at the idea of a television career, which is ironic, because that’s exactly what I’ve enjoyed for the last 30 years. I love what I thought would be constricting. I found I love the consistency, and what I thought would get boring, I’ve managed to find infinite complexity. And instead of having variety, I’ve found family.”
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He’d go on to appear in 241 episodes of “ER” as Dr. John Carter (and even guest-starred on “Friends” because of the part). And it was just the start of his timely work, something he realized when the “ER” cast landed on the cover of Newsweek.
“It was a big deal at the time because it was ’94 and [Bill] Clinton had newly appointed Hillary to revamp the healthcare industry,” he remembers. “Suddenly, everybody was up in arms, like ‘What does she know about healthcare?’ The headline on the article for Newsweek was: ‘ER,’ a healthcare program that really works.”
Little did he know, three decades later, he’d be taking on similar stories.
“Sadly, not much has changed,” he says. “Back in those days, we were talking about 40 million Americans going without health insurance, using emergency rooms as the primary source of health care. And here we are, 30 years later, and that number is doubled, almost tripled, and people won’t even go into emergency rooms to seek that health care for a myriad of reasons.”
One of those reasons is dissected in Season 2 of “The Pitt” as ICE officers enter the hospital, causing both patients and staff alike to feel unsafe. Wells recently shared that during conversations with HBO, he was told to make sure the storyline was balanced.
Wyle was then informed about the discussion.
“The negotiation was being driven by political reasons, creative reasons, fear, uncertainty, all sorts of legitimate reasons. I’ll be honest and say that I was concerned about the edits we were making initially,” says Wyle. “When I saw what we had done, I actually think we arrived at something more elegant and a little bit more restrained, which leaves a little bit more ambiguity in it than we may have started out with. I think it’s healthier for the storyline in the long run. It ended up being show the bear, don’t poke the bear in a lot of ways, which is enough. Because the context came out after we’d filmed that episode, we didn’t have to do half of what we had done. That had already been imprinted into the mind of most Americans.”
Wyle’s sitting outside the Season 3 writers’ room for our interview, and while he’s staying mum about details around the next season, he adds that they probably won’t have a big time jump this time around. “The only time jump we’re interested in making is to get into a different weather season, to get into a slightly different mode of cases that come with a change in weather. If that was summer, then what happens in the winter when you get cold, snow and black ice.”
While he’ll continue looking ahead, he does have one message for that little kid skipping over the stars on Hollywood Blvd., wondering if one day his name would be down there: “Hang in there. It’s gonna be a fun ride.”
WHAT Noah Wyle receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
WHEN 11:30 a.m., April 9
WHERE 6164 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
WEB walkoffame.com
From Variety US