Full Transcript for Noah Wyle

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Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Good Hang. Boy, we have one of my favorite actors on today from one of my favorite show, parentheses, shows, and that is Noah Wiley. Noah Wiley is joining us, and we're going to talk about so many fun things. We're going to talk about, well, people falling asleep on set. We're going to talk about what it was like playing basketball with George Clooney.

We're going to talk about a little show called ER that I've watched in its entirety three times through. We're going to talk about The Pit, a little show that's winning every Emmy, including 1 ,000 awards. Oh, and speaking of awards, we're going to talk about the fact that Noah Wiley announced here for the very first time is People Magazine's sexiest man alive.

Yeah, baby. Okay, we're going to get into it, but before we do, we always try to talk to somebody who knows our guest or has a question for me to ask our guest, and we are talking to Sean Haddesee. Yes, Dr. Jack Abbott,

the nightcrawler himself, the man from the night shift from The Pit, and you know Sean, he's an incredible actor, director. You know him from Animal Kingdom. You know him from Southland. He's just our favorite crazy doctor who's bringing us along for the ride. So let's see if we can get Sean on the Zoom. Hey, Sean.

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Sean? Amy, how are you? Sean, it is good to see you. It is good to see you. You know, we just officially met in person just recently. The pre -Emmy party, and we were near the bar area, and you did this thing, which I often do, which is I put my head down and walk away, and I was like, she doesn't want to talk to us. And then your friend looked up, and there was a moment of recognition, and my wife was like, he knows you were going to go talk to me right now.

You're a wonderful wife, Kelly. I got to talk to you both. And you're right. I mean, I get a little overwhelmed at parties. I understand. But we didn't give you that chance. We took you hostage for like 20 minutes, and we threw up all over you. And thank you for indulging. Oh, yeah, right back at you. I'm very, very excited to talk to you today.

I mean, Sean, I love your work and have for a very long time. And it's been awesome to watch what you do so naturally and so well coincide with this like huge hit show. Like, you know, what it is to work in this business and to be on shows that are really, really good. And that don't have this kind of momentum behind them. Yeah. What's it like to be on a hit? You're on a hit, baby.

You do so many shows. And at the beginning, you're like, this is going to go forever. And then it like gets canceled after five episodes. So when you're starting a show, you just sort of kind of go, I don't you know, it feels like we're doing good work. I'm not sure. I got to say with the pit, you know, with all the elements in place, I've worked with John Wells, who was the executive producer on other shows, and they didn't do as well.

But there's something about this that felt really solid. And obviously, with Noah, and, you know, his contributions to this type of show, and then the fact that it's, it's taking something that we're familiar with, but changing the concept by putting it in one day, it just, it gave a very like immersive quality to it that just felt really, you know, exciting.

Let's talk about John Wells for a second. Like, what a giant of a producer. I've never had the chance to meet him. He has done so much TV, incredible work. How did you guys first meet? I was a guest star on ER. My manager brought to me that you're going to go audition for this. And I was like, I don't know if I want to do like, I was doing a lot of movies at the time.

And she was like, no, you need to do this one, because John is directing it. And when he directs, you know, it's, it's a big episode. So I read it. And it was, of course, you know, multiple personalities, very like transformative characters. Very cool. And so it really was wonderful. And at the end of it, I looked at him, I was like, I really want to keep working with you if, if, if I'm so lucky.

And, and, you know, then Southland came a couple of years later, ended and it just has worked out. You know, it's one thing to be able to write a show, but it's a, it's a whole other thing to be able to produce a show and know how to put the people in place to make a quality show. He's very loyal. He's, you know, I'm fortunate to work on three shows shot in LA.

I think people sometimes think that making television feels like, like, it's just like people dressed up in fancy, you know, clothes going to Emmy parties and talking to each other. But it's a weird factory where you're just in there with, you know, the same people every day and you're grinding. And a show like The Pit is very much that because we're in one location, which feels like an office, right? The lighting is the same.

And yeah, I mean, but like, as you know, there's also an immense pressure. I watch your show, Parks and Rec, and it's funny every time. Like you guys are, are presenting something that clearly works because it kept going and going. But at a certain point, you feel that, that pressure to deliver, which also creates a special kind of environment when working together, if that makes sense.

I'll tell you what works. The night crawlers. Ooh. Sean. What? Okay. First of all, the, the little pep talk, the Friday night lights pep talk that Dr. Abbott gives to the, to the, to the night shift. Yes. Fantastic. It takes a certain kind of person to work a night or to choose to work nights. You know what it feels like. Totally. I think that that's such an interesting and there, and like it's, it's investigated more in season two and I hope it continues to be, which is what personality trait constitutes a night person and someone who wants to take a night shift.

Like, but you know, whatever the job is, I would just love to pitch that we take night crawlers and we just develop night crawlers as a separate show. I'm going to talk to Nova. All right. But I, I didn't tell you to do that.

Okay. So we're talking to him today and I mean, I'm going to talk to him about all this stuff. Cause I, I think I'm really fascinated by how like our people, our age, we're about the same age. I'm a little older, but like how we like to work now. Like I love listening to people's systems of how they work, what works for them, you know, no matter what their job is, doesn't just have to be acting.

But I think one of the nice things about being in your 50s is you start realizing, oh, this kind of version of work works for me or I do better when I'm around these types of people, like all that stuff. I think there's a little bit of wisdom that comes with that. But I feel like he feels like a very serious guy and kind of private. Are either one of those things true? I mean, I he is a serious guy, but he has a really good sense of humor about stuff.

You know, he's like a big brother, you know, a much older big brother. Yeah, much older, much older, much older.

That's really nice to hear, because that is the vibe on that show is like there's just a lot of fraternal love between your characters. And look, we as viewers, we're just looking for like.

Positive masculinity, we're just looking for examples of it, honestly, anywhere we can find it. And the way you guys play these very, you know, complicated and accomplished men who are taking care of each other, sometimes in limited ways, but they're still trying. It's really, really moving to watch. Yeah. The thing that excites me the most about the relationship and just sort of their their competence, competency when it comes to the medical like you just those are the guys you want.

If something is going wrong, like there's nothing that can come through on a gurney that they can't fix. They have all the answers like right on the tip of their tongues. But when it comes to their mental health, you know, they just are idiots and they they just don't have the tools. And because of their position as leaders, as men who are supposed to be counted on, it's hard to raise your hand and say, hey, I'm struggling.

I need help, you know, and I think that the fact that we're tackling that and in the way that we are is is incredibly positive. OK, so do you have I ask all my my Zoom guests if they can give me a question to ask my guests, big or small, anything you might think Noah wants to talk about or anything you want to know about him? I was thinking about this and sort of what we were talking about, like he's such a masterful performer when it comes to acting, his ability to to bring out the medical jargon.

I've seen it as an actor and also as a director, his his access to vulnerability, his ability to play emotion, heavy emotion. And like the stamina that is required to do it over and over again, he never changes. And the other thing I really think Noah is good at is listening. He's got these eyes that when he's he has to convey some sort of story point just from listening, he does it brilliantly.

And so all that aside, as somebody watching it, it just seems very easy to him. And I was curious.

Is there something he reads as an actor that.

He's scared of. Is there an insecurity? Is there is there a something that he would read in a script that he's like, oh, man, I'm afraid. I wonder if I if I can do that because we all as actors have deep insecurities. Oh, my God. You know what I mean? And it's so I'm just curious. What does he read and go, fuck, I don't know if I can do that.

That's a great question, because he's had to do he's he's he's gotten a lot of scripts over the years where he's had to do things. And they especially certainly on E. It was like big physical comedy and big emotional moments and like romantic moments and like big breakdowns that, you know, are coming. And just like, what is the thing that you read on the page or, you know, you are in the room pitching that you're like, oh, no, I'm going to eventually have to do this.

Yes. And then my second question is, yeah, he's putting together a basketball team. OK, he can use anybody from the pit or E .R. He's the point guard. OK, he needs to he needs to bring on four more players from the pit or E .R. What is that team? Oh, fantastic question. And I got to say, don't tell him this. But if he doesn't pick me, we're going to have to talk about that.

Yeah. He'll sense that in the question you might be hoping to be picked. But I'll try not to deliver it that way. I think he's definitely going to pick George Clooney. Right. Because he plays basketball still, doesn't he? I don't know. I don't. I think so. I mean, does he have time? No kidding. He probably has some guy play basketball for him at this point.

He's not having he's not playing his own basketball. Yeah. He has a gentleman, an Italian gentleman who plays for him. For sure. No way. Right. But you're right. I mean, basketball was a big thing in E .R. It was just like they were always shooting hoops. And you and you're a good basketball player. You like basketball. I played a lot of basketball and like as a as a kid, high school.

But I play tennis now. I play pickleball. So there's where they played basketball on the pit. I mean, on E .R. That right next to the friend stage, there's a basketball court. But they've put pickleball there. So sometimes at lunch we'll go not Noah. He has never made it out there. But I'll drag some people out there and we'll play pickleball.

A lot of people don't know that the pit and E .R. were not shot in Pittsburgh and in Chicago, but right on the lot in Los Angeles. Thank you so much for doing this. I know Noah will be thrilled that we talked. And thank you so much for the time. And it was so great to meet you in person. I love your work. I can't wait for the next season and all the good stuff ahead.

So thanks again. Thank you. Bye, Sean. Bye.

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May I open this on the air? Oh, please do. Please do. Yeah. Oh, wait. This is from your wife and daughter? Yeah, they found these and they know that you have all this little stuff and they thought you would think this was cute. Come on. First of all, a tie. They called it eye joy just to look at these and get a little bit of pleasure. Oh, this is really nice.

This is an anthropomorphic pretzel, but like the one I asked for. And same with a croissant with legs.

And then this is, oh, it's broccoli. I had it upside. I thought it was an octopus. It's versatile. It's broccoli. Listeners, Noah just came with presents and beautifully crafted presents. And I'm also going to read the card on air. It won't be hard. My daughter's got the most incredible penmanship. How old is your daughter? She's 11. This one is 11.

Oh, come on. I actually don't know what it says. Is there anything nicer than 11 -year -old girls? Dear Amy, my mom and I are big fans of your podcast and heard you collect fake food. Although this isn't realistic. We thought you might love it. Love, Frances and Sarah. All I ever wanted was a good, good hang. And then she drew a picture. Come on.

She used her cursive? She did. Oh, she broke out the cursive for you, too. She's really showing off. What a sweetie pie. Girls are the best. That is so sweet, Frances Thank you, Frances Thank you, Sarah She's going to be so tickled Oh my god, thanks for bringing that We'll put it on the shelf before we're done For continuity's sake, though We've got to leave it off Noah Wiley is here Noah Wiley is here And also, Noah I just want you to know No presh But you were like one of the first people When people were like Who do you want on your podcast? You were somebody that I've been I've been trying to get you for a long time I haven't been playing hard to get I've just been

working a lot I know I've been watching your work I'm really happy to be here And you've been very kind about my work Through the years Well, get ready Buckle up Okay

I heard from your people That you refused to come Until you were voted Sexiest man

You said I will only be on this pod I need something legitimate to talk about People's sexiest man alive And I guess my first question is Jonathan Bailey was last year Yeah How is your administration Going to be different? What are you going to do different Than the Bailey administration? I'm really disappointed With what he's done On the international front And with immigration So Yeah, you're going to start With the heaviest The administration That's going to really crack down On the borders

Of beauty Congratulations Thank you I think that one goes to my mother And my father But yeah, thank you But I can almost remember Chronologically The ones that came out During my formative years Well, don't you remember I mean, People Magazine Was very big in my house Huge And it was And you'd get it And you'd sit down And you'd be like Here we go Cover to cover Not a problem Cover to cover Was it like that Cumbersome time Or, you know Years a week People No, people You just breeze through it Pie charts Yeah But I have genuinely Wanted you to be here For a very long time Thank you for being here My pleasure entirely And thank you for being here On what is like 120 degree

California It is warm out there I was just in Burbank Where It was 108 In Burbank today It felt like You know, fall Yeah But you like Had a LA experience Growing up And then kind of Like a ranch Horses California Experience I had a very Atypical upbringing For a city kid Because my grandfather Back in the late 50s He was a Really brilliant guy And he went to a Symposium on Population explosion In 1959 At Caltech And he came away Thinking that water And land are going to be The two most precious Resources in California So he went looking for both And he found this piece Of property About an hour North of Fresno In the exact geographical Center of California North to

Southeast to west In this little town Outside of North Fork And he bought this Cattle ranch That's been in our Family forever Wow Now And we all grew up Kind of playing Huck Finn There You know Getting dirty And riding horses And hurting ourselves And each other And so I had a kind of Country upbringing And a city upbringing I had both Oh that's so cool What a like Great place to be a kid And run around And that's awesome Yeah you don't realize How special it is Until you compare your Childhood to other people And you know I was very fortunate Do you have an animal That like a Do you have like a farm Animal that you love I've had pigs at my place I think pigs are really

Great and full of character And personality Yeah I've heard they're great I mean you know Not I don't have I've had emus They are different I've seen emus on TikTok And I don't want to They're a little scary And they don't They're not very social What happened Well I was trying to feed them And they got really aggressive After they had babies And I had a three -walled Enclosure for them And I had a trash can With their food in it And they both came in And they fight by kicking up Their big talon feet At like velociraptors And all I had to defend myself Was the lid of the trash can So I was holding it Like a shield You were like Captain America Not quite More like Coward

America And I was you know Crouched down thinking About all the headlines I would not want to read About how I was killed By an emu So I kind of Bum rushed them And got past them And thought That's it That's it They're out of here Yeah You were like I'm getting you out of here Their poop is extremely Rich in nitrogen So it makes great fertilizer For pot And their feathers Are what fly fishermen Like to make flies out of So I found a pot smoking Fly fisherman Who came down And took them all away He was like Yeah pot Did you have When you were on the ranch As a kid Little Noah Were you a funny kid? Were you Did you Were you performing As a young person? I was a very moody

kid I was a very temperamental kid And occasionally One of those temperaments Would be funny And I figured out early That I could get attention By being a storyteller And a bit of a comedian So I kind of latched onto that But I was You know Always trying to find my tribe Always trying to find my rhythm Yeah Always feeling a slightly Step out of my class And my group But But I'm surprised to hear you say that Because I know you made some Like big choices Very young About what you wanted to do With your life You decided I'm not going to go to college I'm going to be an actor That's true And that's a big swing For somebody who made it Well that was after I found my tribe I

went away to do this theater program That's sponsored by Northwestern University In the summer program Called the Cherub Program Kind of an all -star program For theater kids From all over the country And I went and was like Oh Here you are Yeah My people Let's Let's play And I came back Just committed That college knowledge You know I want to start I'm going to get an apartment With my best friend And we're going to hustle Did you wait tables During that time? I did I worked for a man Named Dimitri Dimitrov At the Belage Hotel Dimitri's now gone on To become A rather famous Wait a minute Connector in this town But when I was 17 He hired me to bus tables for him Is this

the Dimitri that I Yeah it was pleasure It was pleasure Okay Sunset Tower People should know He is very famous Yeah Dimitri is like An incredible character He's in my A &E biography

Talking about how he molded me From a scruffy young street urchin Into a rather accomplished busboy He's kind of like You don't make him like that anymore Dimitri Like he was a maitre Well and I met him He was a maitre d Yeah And he was like The epitome of what You would imagine Fancy service would be He drilled into us This wonderful phrase The nobility and humility That you're not subservient Because you're serving And if you want to be an actor Think of this as putting on a show For these people Give them the most incredible Dining experience And play that part And pay attention to detail And his work ethic Was so intense That one night My job at the end of the shift

Was to make him an espresso With four sugars While he counted all the money And tipped us out And one night He was just sweating profusely He'd been really aggressive All night Telling us to change ashtrays And give more bread And it was because He was working with a burst appendix And once he paid us out He went to the emergency room And had it operated on And showed up the next night For the shift So do you know how painful That is to work with a burst appendix? I do because I've watched A lot of your medical shows Yes I do Well He's an absolute soldier When it comes to work Whoa That's wild And do you Like do you feel like You were a good waiter? Because I think there

is something About waiting tables And being in the service industry In general That Especially when you're a young person Where you get very good Or you get Practice anyway At figuring out How to deal with a lot of Different people fast Oh absolutely I think that's really true In fact I've recommended it to my kids I say you know work and You'll understand why You won't want to do it For the rest of your life Really quickly Yeah But you'll get this camaraderie This bond with your fellow workers That you'll never forget And it will battle test you For all sorts of Different kinds of people Yeah The idea that you have to Very quickly make an impression Is really Well you're

so good at impressions Oh thanks Why thanks No I'm learning Okay I'm too excited

Let's take a drink of water I did not know That you were auditioning at 2018, 19, 20, 21, like really young and auditioning Did you ever do commercials during that time? No, I was really cocky and I was really, I thought I only wanted to do theater and film That was my whole thing when I started out And I signed with a wonderful agent, a woman named Eileen Feldman Signed me basically with a list of plays on the back of an envelope that I'd done in high school And on the recommendation of a casting director named Gretchen Ronell Who I'd met at a party, who was very kind to me And she said, okay, if that's what you want to do And then eventually, when that didn't pan out

She sent me the pilot script for ER, which had been written as a feature script And at that point, I was ready to do whatever Did you feel like you nailed it? Did you feel good about your audition? It's going to date it so specifically I love it Let's talk about faxes and pagers Well, I had just gone through a rather tumultuous breakup My first big love had broken my heart And I was trying to rebuild my life And I was sort of looking for clues So good for the audition though And I had gone back into therapy And I was reading The Celestine Prophecy Do you remember that book? Yes And so I was so very into this idea of controlled dramas And recognizing what someone's trying

to do to you And being neutral and all that shit And so I remember sitting in the hallway thinking about not letting the other actors That were auditioning around me's energy affect me and what I wanted to do Perfect And I went in and the first one went very well And they called me back for the producers And then I tested against one other actor A gentleman named Raphael Sabard She was very talented Wow And it changed my life Yeah, I mean, I just don't think I really understood how young you were When you were on that show I turned 22 while we made the pilot So I was 21 when I was auditioning for it Wow Which is my daughter's age, which is crazy I know And that age is

such an interesting age Because it is that middle feeling where you're just You're like, I'm not a kid anymore I'm an adult But you're just stepping into that It's so tender That age I had great big brothers on that one though I had George, Tony, and Eric Who were all 10 years older than me Who had already been down those roads before And I had a huge crush on Sherry So I felt very comfortable to be part of that ensemble I didn't know that I can't wait I'm sorry Everybody had a crush on Sherry You're going to have to bear with me Because I'm going to ask you a lot of ER questions Okay, I'm ready Where do I start? I think you share a similar love for television than I do

And I think there's something about television That is so personal And we revisit these people and these shows and these characters Like if we're lucky enough to get to do that over and over again When I first watched ER Like everyone else I was, you know, in the 90s I had just graduated from college Then cut to I'm watching ER at 7 o 'clock every night on TNT And reruns when I'm like Ripping bongs and going away You know, with not a care in the world But I'm 20, you know, whatever it is, 26 Well, maybe that's a little old to be doing that

And then I watched it again when in my 30s I re -watched it again during the pandemic I have re -watched that series a lot It is one of my comfort shows My first question is, have you re -watched it? Not in its entirety Not start to finish I've caught episodes over the years And kind of, you know, caught up on it Do you watch it when you see it? When I first started dating my wife, Sarah

She wanted to watch it from the beginning And I had the DVDs So I gave them to her And every once in a while I had to walk past and go What are you up to? Oh yeah, oh that's a good one Or I have no memory of this whatsoever Who is that kid? Yeah So, I'll go back to say When I said I wanted to do only theater and film It's so ironic that I've made my entire career in television And it's been the most rewarding career you could want Because it is a family that you build up over a long period of time There is a culture that's within the show that you're making That's just as fun to be part of That nobody else really gets to know about Because it's so insular to just the

environment of the work And then this relationship that you build up with audiences Who are attending you in their moments of their life that are important And you kind of are an anchoring point for that It's really, it's been astonishing to have people grow up with me And have me grow up with them And have these shared experiences and times It's been wonderful Well, I've said this But the arc of John Truman Carter on that show Is, I think, one of the best arcs ever on television There are many shows that run 15 years So you can get a lot of lifespan in that time frame And they did But they also had It was such a lovely bookend To have his first day of work be the pilot

of the hospital So it's the audience's exposure to the environment Is coming through this character And even when I left after the end of the 11th season And left a few episodes in the balance I called it a divorce with visitation rights John Wells was always adamant about me coming back and being part of the end So that we could close the chapter on that career And that the third year medical student becomes the chief attending Was a lovely road to travel Oh yeah, it's so satisfying to watch that In what felt like real time Even though And, you know, spoiler alert If you haven't watched ER Fast forward now But if you haven't Literally, what's wrong with you? But The way

Talk about bookends Dr. Green getting woken up Come on, let's go Dr. Green And ending with With With John Carter Saying Dr. Green Are you coming? To Dr. Green's daughter Oh, he can make me cry I mean Good lord I mean The circle of lies I know It's good stuff It's good stuff I know I get very Yeah, it's beautiful It's beautiful And also What was so incredible about that show And honestly What is incredible about shows that deal with people Who do that kind of work Is there is this feeling of celebrating life Like one must Yes One must Yes Because it's all we have Yes And so I know Just Anyway That was so beautifully done And okay But I haven't even started There's a great

Pittsburgh poet Who wrote a poem called A Brief for the Defense That has a line in there That I think about a lot I love this poem Do you know the poem? You must have the stubbornness to accept Your gladness And the ruthless furnace of this world The ruthless furnace of this world I love this poem I just sent it to a friend Who's going through a hard time Jack Gilbert Okay

48 million people will watch DR It's such a hit It's insane I just want to talk about What I believe was the most For me anyway The most important relationship On the show Which was you and Eric LaSalle Sure Dr. Carter And Dr. Benton Dr. Peter Benton Peter Benton Who was the surgeon Who was Everything about that portrayal Was ahead of its time Eric's choices Your choices together The writing of that character The way that character changed The way that Eric I think And all of you Kind of fought For ways in which To make sure That that character Stayed true to himself

How would you describe That relationship And what did you two Talk about To make sure to like Maintain its integrity It's such a beautiful It was very instinctual Yeah And it wasn't very verbalized You know Eric and I Just fell into A really great rhythm Early on With each other Where Because of the power imbalance Being the exact opposite Of what you would imagine It to be Where the young white doctor Is killing himself For the approval And approbation Of the older black surgeon And holds his and Eric got to play the sort of, you know, I always laugh when I went to Japan on a press tour once.

They showed me ER in Japanese. And of course, they gave Eric the very deep like,

and then they gave me the status. And the journey was to have my voice deepening to have his voice in my mind. Yeah. I mean, even watching it when I was a young person, I remember thinking, wow, Dr. Benton is so, he's like so mean. He's so uptight. He's like, you know, he's so tough on Carter. I used to go to the post office and all the ladies would go, he's so mean to you.

He's so mean to you. Just the physicality when you watch the way you two walked. I mean, the way he was like striding constantly down the hallway, the way you were always behind him over his shoulder, peering until eventually, you know, throughout the seasons, you just become literally on the same plane as him. The way you are constantly watching him is so, it's just what a relationship that was.

He gave me a lot to play off of. And I've said many times how much respect I have for what he was doing in a way without, I think, recognizing what he was doing consciously, but what he was representing at a time that where that wasn't being represented. And, you know, to us, occasionally, it seemed like Eric's being kind of stubborn. You know, he doesn't want to be a team player and take this Picture this way.

And we didn't really understand what he was trying to represent, which was a different stripe of blackness, maleness, professionalism.

And I have to give him a tremendous amount of credit and have through the years for that. But I didn't get it in the beginning and I really got it now. It was so beautifully done because his tension about being successful, being right, being at the right time, like advancing, comes from a much different place than Carter's. And the clash of that was so interesting to watch.

Eric and I come from very different backgrounds, but we have a lot in common. And it was really interesting to sort of mind both of those arenas, how different we are and how much we end up liking each other. Despite our differences, maybe because of our differences. Did you guys giggle a lot together, though? Were you gigglers? Yeah, he has a very infectious laugh and getting Eric to break is one of the great joys in life.

It feels like you kind of were a couple of goofballs at times. We were all goofballs. We were all the class clowns in our class trying to get attention. So the idea that we would all be serious doctors, you know, it's a finite concept before we all want to start making fun of what we're doing, especially when you've got George Clooney in the scene.

And, you know, it was people that and he really set the tone. Let's work really hard. Let's play really hard. Let's take this work seriously, but not take ourselves seriously. Yeah, I can tell that. Let's show up, be on time, be professional, erase the division between cast and crew, between foreground and background. Let's just see if we can make this feel like a company.

And I've taken that exact ethos and recreated it with the pit. That is that is how that was baked into the intentionality of the pit is how can I recreate the environment of family, hard, good, relevant work and, you know, respectful, inclusive environment at the same time. Did you like his pranks, though?

No, the answer is no. No. Well, you know. Who likes the pranks? They're funny stories to tell. Are you a prank guy? I'm not a big pranker. No, I knew it. Who's a big pranker? We don't have the time. I like this. When my son was small, he was super into trains. And when he would fall asleep, I'd run downstairs and create these elaborate train layouts for him and then tell him, like, the layout fairy must have come.

That's cute. So he believed in the layout fairy. Like, I like magic making and I like blowing people's minds that way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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I just want to ask you about a couple moments on ER acting -wise. Okay, back to that. Okay, sorry. I mean, I only watched it 5 ,000 times. Fair. I'm all yours. Okay, in addition to Dr. Peter Benton being someone that I– it took me a minute just like the character of Carter to realize like, oh, I'm talking about– someone who's had a different experience than me and I'm learning about their experience through this character.

Laura Ennis, Carrie Weaver. What a beautiful performance she gives. Oh, my goodness. I was at her audition. I sat in on maybe two or three auditions in 15 years. I just happened to be in the office when they were casting that role. And I had a friend who was reading for it, so that's maybe why I was there as sort of an anchoring energy for my friend.

But Laura walked in and walked out or limped out with the part. It was just– it was like a revelation what she did with that part. And that is a part that, again, when you mature, I think, at least for me as a woman watching the show, when I was in my 50s, I was like, oh. I mean, suddenly that character who honestly, frankly, sometimes has to be the one that's like, stop having fun, guys.

We got to get back to work. You realize the pressure that that character is under to keep that hospital going, which you really take a hard look at in the pit. This idea of like there's a whole other world. There's like the world– there's like the street -level world of stuff. There's the bird's -eye view of stuff. Then there's like this management piece that is just keeping the lights on.

She's so, so good in that. And in the scene when Dr. Carter is– spoiler alert– when he has to go to rehab, when they call him out, what– I watched that scene. I don't even have a question.

Such good acting. Noah, you're so good in that scene. I think I got good on that show. I got– I mean, the luxury of getting that writing week after week and these directors week after week. And you're working with guest stars that are Academy Award winners and icons and legends. And you're getting to share the stage with them every week.

I got better so that when– after year five when George left and after year eight when Tony and Eric left. And I inherited some of the bigger, more meatier storylines. I was ready for them then in a way that I wouldn't have been ready for them in those early seasons. So I credit longevity to preparing me for the juicier stuff. But those were great.

And to give Carter the drug addiction, I remember thinking– I'm telling John Wells, like, I don't know if I buy this. He goes, that's the point, is that you're the most unexpected face for drug addiction. But the face of drug addiction is every face. And that's the point we want to make. And lastly, I know you've worked with incredible people.

But do you remember working with Adam Scott? Yeah. Well, not really. Season one, episode 20. It was reminded of me by Instagram. So he told a very funny story about that. Do you remember it? So Adam was on a gurney and it was you and Ming -Na doing your scene. And he– I think he's just supposed to lie there as the patient. And he realizes he forgot to put the breathy thing in, the tube.

He forgot a prop basically. And you guys have all this jargon. And he's like, oh shit. And he's like, he kind of raises his hand like, does it matter that I didn't have my thing on? And everyone's like, yes, dumbass, it matters. I'm going to forgive Adam and put that all in our prop department. Yeah, it wasn't Adam's job, was it? No, that would have been Rick Latamane's job.

Like, I know you've answered this. Yeah. I know you have. Rick's the prop master on the pit. Rick. He is? Yeah. Same ER prop. Yeah, there's a few connective tissue people that really make it very lovely. A good prop master is no better feeling. It is so important. Well, you know, I mean, it's from SNL and all. I mean, it's the best. Well, I didn't want to make comparisons, but I'm going to.

I'm going to compare SNL to ER. I'm going to compare Parks and Rec to the pit. I'm sorry. Do it. But SNL was like a comedy emergency room. And I know we are not doing the kind of work that that emergency. Way higher stakes with what you were doing. Way higher stakes. Way higher stakes. Not at all. Please know that I'm not making that comparison.

But what I notice is, you know, you just there's no time to panic. No. There's no one running around being like, what are we going to do? How are we going to fix this? We go on air in a minute. There's just in fact, the more stressful things get, the quieter people get. And when you start to work with those kinds of people, you never want to work with anybody else again.

Yes. They're just the people you can depend on when the shit goes down. I'll give my father a lovely compliment. My dad is a brilliant man. But in life, you know, sort of comes off occasionally like an absent -minded professor. But he's also a small plane pilot. And I've been with him in the plane when something isn't working. And that's when you want to be in Stephen Wiley's plane because he's got an engineer's mind who just says, problem, work the problem.

And motion, fear, all those other things don't seem to kind of come into play. And it's a really, I don't have that ability. I lead with emotion and empathy. So the first thing is like, well, what does that feel like? As opposed to, you know, what would be the right thing to do? You don't have that? No, no, I can act it though. Yeah, you sure can.

My wife will tell you, she slammed her finger in a car door and Dr. Robbie was nowhere to be seen. Just immediately started crying. And you're like, oh my God, what are we going to do? You know, elevates and drives the dogs to Santa Barbara for like three hours, comes back, goes to urgent care. Meanwhile, I'm still boiling water and finding hot towels.

And you're like, I need a moment. I got to find my feelings. Okay. But I want to talk about the pit because here's my other, you know, clumsy comparison. But first of all, congratulations on a wonderful show. Thank you. And a beautiful, well -deserved and satisfying rise as you made it. Like, it feels like you got to make the show before the show became, do you know what I mean? Like, you got to make what you wanted and then people noticed.

Yes. That's not always the right, that's not always the timing that happens. It was a whole confluence of events, which I'm sure you're well aware of, that we were going to start down an ER reboot road that didn't come to pass. But we sort of set a table of expectation for a medical show from us that we were then allowed to really fast track the development process through because of that vacuum that we'd created from the near miss.

And so this just happened so quickly that it seemed like there was a larger force behind it and we just needed to stay on the surfboard and let it push us. What creatively came out of that, like, early stutter step that you're so happy it did? Well, I'm sorry to say for all the ER fans, but once we uncoupled ourselves from that IP, it suddenly liberated the storytelling.

It wasn't about who do we see again and what have they been up to? It's what are the issues of the day? Yes. And how is the, what's the most cogent way to put them across? So in a lot of ways, it's kind of liberated the narrative for us and allowed us to reframe and kind of modernize it and not have to pay any homage to the traveled road.

Yeah. Because the, why I think about Parks and Rec when I think about the pit is the show is about a place and the place is this beating heart that everybody is gathered around. And the place is like, has its own system and the people kind of almost like come alive when they're in the place. And sometimes you kind of feel like they're like at rest, like computers when they're not in the place.

And then the, and other thing I'll say is that I feel like people really want to watch people who are good at their jobs. A hundred percent. I do. Me too. It's like competency porn. Like people are like, wow, look at those people. They care and they're good at their jobs. Like sign me up. It's what we're desperate to see. How recently we watched, um, all the president's men and just watching Redford and, and, um, and Dustin Hoffman embody Woodward and Bernstein and seeing that Washington post office at the verisimilitude, the detail, the specificity of everything in it.

And what everybody's doing is so good that you don't question anything. You're just along for the ride. That's, that's, that's, that's a movie making it's best. I meant to ask you, Noah, you had the chance to work with Rob Reiner. I did. How is that? Oh my goodness. It was a dream. It was an absolute dream. He was everything you would imagine and want him to be.

Yeah. Uh, I've told the story before, but I'm happy to share it as many times as I'm asked about it. I got to the set early for my first day of work. I saw a few good men. A few good men. I saw Rob Reiner talking to Aaron Sorkin and I didn't want to bother them. So I started to move away. And this big booming voice said, Noah. And I turned in, Rob came at me like a big lumbering bear and he picked me up and he goes, Hey man, I'm so excited that you're here.

We're going to have so much fun today. And he turned to Aaron and goes, this guy's fantastic. Well, you saw the audition. He's great. It's going to be great today. I'm so happy. Listen, it's a little overcast. We're not going to get to your stuff for a little bit. Go check out your room. Go get some breakfast. This is going to be great. And he walked away.

And if he had said, go kill that guy, I would have said, you got it, Rob. I was so excited that I was so welcomed that he made me feel comfortable and confident, competent all in about eight seconds. And I took that lesson on every set I've ever been on. And I got to tell him 20 years later when I auditioned for something I didn't get. But listen, I just want to thank you for this gift of set deportment that you gave to me because I've welcomed every guest star and every set I've ever been on in the same way and gotten their best work and gotten them to be relaxed and to feel comfortable in the same way that you made me feel.

So that's my takeaway story from that is, you know, you can get such better work out of treating people with kindness and generosity than being austere or sort of aloof and making somebody wonder whether they, belong and having their insecurities and imposter syndrome be the ruling emotion, you know. Oh, what a great story. What a beautiful story with him.

You know, I do want to just you're not asking me for feedback about the pit, but I'm going to give you a little bit of feedback. Are you ready? I'm ready. If you're going to show so much guts.

And blood. Yeah, you're going to go there, which you go there. And it's incredible. Your makeup team is incredible. The stuff you do is bananas. I don't watch most of it. I cover my eyes. But I mean, I can't take it. I'm eating spaghetti. You need the pit blinders. Yeah. You're going to sell glasses. But if you're going to show that much, you got it.

Every time you do that, you got to get a little smooch. Someone's going to do a little smooch. Oh, you think it's one for one? One for one. Just a tiny smooch. Wow. Just one. No, not one for one. Maybe I would discuss maybe a one to four ratio, but certainly not one to one. Just a little smooch. Okay. You got to show the guts. You got to show some butts.

We do show butts. You do show butts, but you know, in a romantic way. Oh, no. We don't show those kind of butts. Okay, and then also Robbie riding without the helmet. Incredible. Such a great detail. So great. So smart. Such tension in the second season because he's riding without it. And, of course, he's not a good patient. You know, all those things.

And it tells us so much. It's so good. I want him to come back from that motorcycle trip. And I want it to have been good. I think you're going to be okay. Thank God. I think you're going to be okay. Literally, I can't take it anymore. The fact that it comes back at all is a wonderful sign. Exactly right. But I need him to have gone a little, gone somewhere and had a.

Yeah, it's good. Had some smooches somewhere. Oh, you know. Oh, maybe not smooches. Come on. I don't want to give anything away. Have you ever fallen asleep or seen anybody fall asleep while they were in a gurney on the show? Oh, it happens all the time. Right? Yeah. We actually tell because, you know, we tell our background, like, go party all night.

Take a second job. Come in. Just this is your job. Just, you know, and you hear him snoring or farting or whatever every once in a while. It's wonderful. It's pretty hard to lay down for many, many hours and not fall asleep. Yeah. Yeah. It's a great gig. Yeah, that's great. And it's great. You know, it's not just our background. We intentionally have patients that are seated into the environment that don't pop until five or six hours later.

Oh, yeah. There's a guy that I'm just working with this week who's been there since week one in a gurney for seven weeks. After week five, we let him turn over. After week six, I think he sat up. And now he's awake and he's carrying the narrative for the next four episodes. That is so cool. And it is a part of the show that's like just very fun puzzle boxy is you're just wondering who's going to be the main character in the in the in the next hour.

And this is a show that the audiences seem to like to pull from the back row. Like, I really like Mateo or I really like Ahmad, the security guy. You know, people are really focused on the on the peripheral characters, which makes this feel like, OK, the narrative is working. If you're getting invested in people that only sometimes have two or three lines per episode.

And, you know, we talked very early on about this idea of like knowing when you met your people like at that at that program in Northwestern. You love actors. I do very much. You've spoken about it and I find it really very, very moving the way you feel count yourself lucky to be among the actors as a community. And I think the way you treat actors on the pit, you can tell your love for them.

You give people a lot of opportunity to score. I just want during the strike when I was walking around with a picket sign in my hand, I was walking a lot with Matt Weiner and I was walking a lot with I don't know. I had a lot of people that I was conversing with and we were talking about work and what work should mean and used to feel like and what we'd want it to mean again.

And I feel like that became the intentionality of what I wanted this to look and feel like. And I even wrote a letter that I sent to our casting director saying, you know, this is the look and feel of the show. It's like an old Altman movie where you just you got to throw in like you're going to summer camp or doing kind of rep and TV and camp at the same time.

Leave your ego behind. Bring your creativity. You're never going to work like this again. This is a really immersive experience. So if you're thirsty for something like that and you want to buy into something and play hooky from your life 12 hours a day, come join our pirate ship. And it was just like calling all pros, calling all pros. People just came and they show up to play.

It is not hard for me to be focused at work because everybody's coming in there to give the best of themselves. And I find that so inspiring. That's what I love about actors is their courage. And they can be petulant and they can be petty and they can be gossipy and they can be like cats that never want to get on their mark or come to rehearsal.

Once you get them there, they'll kill themselves for you. They really will. You know, you speak really well about a lot of things that matter to you and you also show up.

I could list a million things in which I've even in the past year I've seen you speak passionately about. Where is this feeling of like justice and advocacy? Where did where did it come from? Is it is it is was it in your family of origin? I definitely think I think I grew up in a family that that preached a version of social justice and was always conscious of inequality.

And our responsibility because we had opportunity or, you know, advantages was to try to level the playing field and democratize it wherever possible. So, you know, we all grew up with a sense of civic mindedness, the sense of you have to participate in society that, you know, there is a limit of enough for yourself and you can define what is enough.

And that makes the, you know, define the difference between want and need. What do you really need versus what do you want? And I I had this wonderful, huge career in my 20s when I got all the big toys, the big house. You know, I got to see what my grandfather said was true. You can only be in one room at a time. And sometimes the bigger the space, the lonelier the space.

So I've been on my own journey of defining what is enough and what makes me happy. And I've gotten to a place where it really is defined by meaningful work and meaningful family life. Anything other than that is give back. So I'm allowed to be philanthropic and feel magnanimous because my cup is full, which is a lovely thing to be able to say.

And then being in a position with this show to, you know, have an opportunity to go to Washington, have doors open and have people listen to things that are important to me. Yeah. Be an advocate for Los Angeles based production. A couple of the things have become very important. I love I loved watching you and your mom go together. Oh, that was amazing.

To me, that's not an act of charity. If you get this incredible opportunity to be with your mother and have your two careers dovetail together. I got to watch my mother, you know, I don't want to say my mother's age, but of advancing age, walking with her fellow nurses and feeling relevant at her advanced age, which isn't always easy for women of advancing age.

Sometimes you feel rather invisible. You feel like what they took away from seeing their mother work. Well, I've talked about this. I had my mother and I had a big moment after season one of the pit aired and she watched episode 12 where my character has this breakdown and she came over to my house and she just said that it's triggered something for her.

And she started having all these memories of all these cases that she didn't save the patient. She starts listing a gang member who had been shot that she was trying to help with two units of blood and a little kid that she put into a more drawer. And I was like, I don't know these stories. I've never heard these stories. Yeah. And I said, where were all these? And she goes, oh, I don't know.

I said, how old was that? How old was I when you put the kid in the drawer? She goes, well, I think it actually your brother was that age. And that's why that one got to me. But then in retrospect, what I remember is she made us dinner. She drove us to practice. She helped us with her homework. She didn't bring her work home unless she was bringing us gauze to be mummies on Halloween or surgical tubing so we could use them for our Star Wars figures layouts or whatever.

Yeah. Like I didn't learn about who my mother was professionally until 54 years old. Honestly, a lot of kids don't learn who they're like. A lot of times we don't see our mothers as people for a very long time. Yeah. No, I've given her her flowers now, though. Yeah, it's awesome to see. Well, we're going feminine to masculine now because I have to say on the pit, there's just a lot of incredible investigations into like men's friendships and relationships.

And you don't see the, often see the kind of complexity of that. And the relationship you have with Dr. Jack Abbott, with Sean Hattesey is really something. It's so good. And the same with Langdon, you know. Oh, I mean, Patrick Ball is so good. And to an extent Whitaker as well, like the mentor, mentee, you know, it's really lovely to explore these things.

Yeah. Well, we have this thing on the podcast where we... Lovely is not a really masculine adjective. Lovely.

It's really cool. But you know what? The guys are really cool. Yeah, the guys are cool. So we spoke to Sean. Uh -oh. Hattesey? Hattesey. Okay.

I was hoping you'd go with the other one, but okay.

Okay, first of all... I was hoping you'd go Cassidy. I know. Oh my God. I love Sean Cassidy. You want to hear an embarrassing story? Yes. Okay. I love Sean Cassidy. There was a night where it was brokered where we were going to hang out and play pool. And for anybody under 55. And for anybody under 55, Sean Cassidy was like how... He was kind of like Harry Styles.

He was like the Timothee Chalamet of his time, except more TV than film. And he cut albums too. Yeah, he was... I knew him as a musician first. Sure, of course. Did you run, run? Yeah, yeah. Of course. So we're going to hang out. We're going to play pool this night. And I tried too hard.

Sometimes I come on too strong. Sometimes I'm a little overly zealous in the questions I ask and the things that I'm interested in. And I turned him off completely. Sean? I never got a callback. Yeah, I never got a callback.

Because you came on too strong? I believe that was what happened. In fact, that was... I don't want to embarrass Sean. But I did get a review from the mutual friend. He was like, he thought he came on a little strong.

I mean, I'm sweating thinking about it. I'm sweating. We're telling the story. I know, because I think about so many times when I auditioned for stuff. And it is... Take the feeling you have of being on a bad date and multiply it by 10. When you're like, oh, fuck. This date sucks. I am... And you can hear your own voice. Oh, yeah. And you're like, mm -hmm.

Well, I didn't... I thought it went great. Went home and bragged to my wife. I'm like, we're like this now, baby. I may go out on tour with him. You never know. And then you started going, maybe he didn't want to talk about Hardy Boys for an hour. Maybe. Why? Sean, why? Would you not want to talk about the Hardy Boys? That's his problem. All right.

He missed out. He's kicking himself. I got a million of those stories. If that's what you want. You do. I do feel like, Noah, you... I'm learning that you go in. Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Yeah. And sometimes I come out. But most of the time I don't. Yeah. I can tell. I can tell. If you're going to be sexiest man alive, you can't do that. I'm going to go over that.

You've got to get out. I think Sean Connery and Denzel and the sexy men of yesteryear would look down upon my... For all the work that they did. Oh, my God. I'm not holding up. Think about how hard it was for them. To me, I should have trained harder for this, really. I didn't realize that there was so much... Your sexy forefathers did not battle so that you...

There's no guidebook. No, no. There's no rule. Yeah. So, Sean... And I was saying to Sean, we were talking about you, talking well behind your back. And he's very, very in awe of your talent and what you can do and all that you do. And I was just saying, like, what I love so much about his character on The Pit and what you guys have done is you've created this mystery, this nighttime mystery for the night shift that is so fun because we're just projecting a lot on them.

Yes. What kind of people they are. What did they like? They kind of show up as the show is ending and you're like, what? Those little tastes are so well done. Thank you. He had two questions for you. Okay. Okay. One is serious and one is fun. Okay. Is there anything that you read in a script that scares you that you have to do? Like, you know, when you see something come up and you think to yourself, okay, this is going to be hard or scary.

Um, that it, it didn't have to be necessarily in The Pit, but like something that you know is coming. What do you do when, what, what is that? And what do you do when you know it's coming? Hmm. Well, I can kind of answer it two different ways. One, generally speaking, when I read a script, if I think, oh, I couldn't do that. Like what? What could you not do? Well, for example, I remember the first time I read the pilot script for a show I did called Falling Skies where it was like, oh, this guy is a history teacher.

I'm into that. Oh, wait, no, he's going to kill aliens with a machine gun. Oh, wait a second. Nobody's going to want to see me doing that. And so you start to think like, nah, that's not me. I'm not an action hero. They're going to want to get, you know, that guy. And then you say, well, what are you afraid of? What is it that you're resistant to? And you think, do you think this history professor wants to be an action hero? And you start to make logical leaps within to sort of figure out how you would get there if you had to be.

And then suddenly that thing that is sort of scary is more of a mirror saying, look, you're post -divorce. You don't know quite what the future holds for you as a single father. You're rebuilding your life. He's rebuilding his life. Maybe you're afraid of leadership. Maybe you're afraid of fatherhood. Maybe you're afraid of loss. Those are the three defining characteristics to this character.

Maybe that's exactly where you need to go. So I tend to look at those things as barometers for where I need to go rather than where I want to go. And then when I'm in the job, if there's a challenging thing that's coming up, I protect it like I'm a caveman trying to protect the kindled fire so it won't go out. I know it's coming and I just keep blowing on it and adding a little straw to it every day, thinking about it every day.

I can make it bigger and then, okay, just tamp it down until the day. So that on the day, it is a day of release. It's a day of liberation. It's a graduation from having to tend that fire. And so it's not intimidating. I actually get excited when I go to work. And I think this is going to be so fun to see what comes out now that I can actually make this an inferno.

I love that visual of that fire, of keeping that going. Especially on this pit. You know, when you've got to, in episode one, know that you're going to have a breakdown in episode 10. And it's a long time to keep the fire lit. And that every day, you know, I'd be at breakfast with my kids and think, is it there? Yeah, it's there. And I'd be, you know, shopping in the grocery store.

Could you do it right now? Yeah, I could do it right now. And to me, that is the technique I've always wanted to have. I wanted to be able to have a technique that required fresh coffee and a folding chair. And I could do it anywhere. Fuck yeah, Noah. That's so cool. You're really good at acting. Thank you. Thank you. Well, that's going to help you in this basketball team.

Because Sean Hadassi, second question is, you're the point guard of a basketball team. I've never played point guard in my life. You've never played point guard. No, I'm too tall. Yeah. Congrats, by the way. Because literally, in the world of actors, you're a giant. It's true. It's true. Actors are pretty tiny. How tall are you? 6 '1". Hey.

Hey. And change. 6 '1". And change. So you're 6 '1". And change. So, OK. You're right. Maybe Sean. Anyway, you're the point guard of the basketball team. On Sean's team, I'm not playing point guard. OK. You're just on a basketball team. And you have to bring four more players from ER and the pit. Who would you bring? Obviously, I'm going to take Clooney.

You don't grow up in Kentucky without growing up with a basketball on one hand. So he is a great ball player. And I played a lot of ball with him. And he beat me a lot of games. OK. So I'm taking Clooney. I got to pick how many more? Three more? Three more.

Was Sean asking to play? Is this a kind of like a... This is a great question. Was he like, you know, tell him I still got my wheels, you know? I mean, I don't know. What do you think? I don't think he's asking for a spot. I don't think... He's a tennis player. Okay. He did mention that he plays tennis. I bet he did.

I mean, but I'm sure if you asked him to play, he'd be psyched. Luke Tanny's really big. He's on a night shift. Yeah, Luke is great. I might bring in Luke for some size down low. Great. Who's your big guy? That's the tricky part. If I could go all the way back to ER, I'd take A. Ben Ruby. He plays Jerry the desk clerk. That's what I was going to say.

Jerry is a hell of a rebounder. He actually never, ever played with us, ever. He would play Nag Champa incense and sit off to the side and watch us play. But he's 6 '6", 6 '7"? Yeah, he's like 6 '8". He's a good ball player. Okay. And then who else am I going to take? I've got to take one more. I'm going to take young, scrappy Garen Howell's probably never played the game before, but damn it, I'm going to teach him.

I'm going to teach him. You're going to have one person that you're teaching. You remember the guy in Hoosiers who makes the winning basket by throwing it underhand? Just re -watch Hoosiers with my kid. Yeah, the kid that makes the underhanded free throw. That's going to be Garen at our time. And you always need somebody that's going to be like, give us the spirit.

Okay, so Sean was not picked. That's okay, Sean. He didn't want to be picked anyway. It's just odd that he would use a basketball metaphor and want to get picked.

I love that you got hung up on the fact that you weren't going to be the point guard, which is so great. I'm just thinking, I'm merely thinking, Wiley, no, no, no, you can't dribble up there. Get down low.

I always loved the fact when I was watching you guys on ER that I could tell you all were shooters. It was a very satisfying thing to watch. We had a hoop right outside the soundstage, which my trailer was the backstop for, and we played all the time. We played every lunch. It was the bane of all the makeup artists' existence because they had to constantly clean off the sweat and cool us off after lunch.

But George was religious about it, and I could either listen to them play outside my trailer or join them. Yeah, that's awesome. Is there a show that you've watched over and over again? What is your ER? I have this very bizarre habit in that I travel with a jewel case of DVDs, and I pack a DVD player because most places don't have them anymore.

And I carry with me the collected episodes of Columbo and MASH. There's a few that I go to. You've spoken about Alan Alda. Can we speak? Let's talk Alan. I love– MASH was really important to me, too, and very important to my parents. I had young parents, and they would– like, MASH was a really big thing in my home when I was growing up.

And how important was it for you? What do you love about that? Well, that relationship with television shows and actors on television shows is so ancient for me because I was the classic latchkey kid. You know, I was raised by a square babysitter, and I watched so much television that my parents were concerned. And when parents are concerned about video games or TikTok, my parents were concerned because I was, you know, playing hooky from school so I could watch Big Valley and Bonanza and Emergency in the Morning.

And then Laverne and Shirley and Happy Days or Love Mode or Fantasy Island or The White Shadow or Hill Street Blues or MASH. Yes. I mean, I just loved them all. And I don't know what it was about the two actors in particular, Henry Winkler and Alan Alda. Like, to me, I was like, oh, I could do that. I could do that, too. Like, one, they both made acting seem accessible, and I loved both of their characters, and I knew they from other stuff.

So I saw their versatility as well. But getting to meet and work with Alan was, it's not always exciting to meet and work with your heroes, but he did not disappoint. Oh, yeah. And we've now been on a television show together. We did a play together. We did a movie together. And I've done his podcast. So we've been able to be in each other's company quite a bit.

That's awesome. And you worked with Sally. Oh, she was the best. Who is Sally Field, who is like our generation. She's just incredible. And got to reconnect with her doing an Actors on Actors interview, which was so cool. I saw that. So cool. I mean, so good. She is one of those people. You know, it's like Disneyland. I remember Disneyland at 3, 5, 7, 11, 15.

I remember Sally. Yeah. Each stage of my life and development, whether it was a comedy, a drama, she was there. No, I talk about this a lot. Norma Rae was one of those films where, I mean, I don't know if I watched it and thought I could do it, but I watched it thinking I like whatever she is doing is the thing I want to keep watching forever.

She's just. That's how I feel about Ron Liebman in that movie. Yes. He was never better. I mean, he was so good in that movie. Everybody is. And then what are you watching to laugh? My wife and I call it palate cleansers. If we watch something really intense, it's like we need a key and peel. We need a. Key and peel. Yeah. Key and peel. Let's watch a key and peel on the way out.

What's your fave key and peel? Oh, my goodness. That's like really hard to pick. But there's one that they've been showing on Instagram a lot where it's a bunch of gang members sitting around a table and one of them is talking about how they've just lost a friend and it was a friend he grew up with and they used to play Care Bears together and they try to figure out which one, which kind of care bear they were.

And Keegan is daring everybody else at the table to not laugh while my man shares his feelings. Manly tears. Manly tears. Okay. Let's watch. Those guys are incredible. What genius is there? I know. Okay. You know what? None of you look at them tears.

Because it takes a big man to cry in front of his crew.

Go ahead, Carvel. Go ahead, Carvel. Oh, my God. Noah. I'm dying. I'm dying. I'm a sweaty mess. Oh, my God. Ari, do you cry when you laugh? Yeah. I cry all the time, but these are good tears. Oh, my God. Keegan Peel, come on and perform this live for Noah. I got to meet them at Comic -Con once years and years ago. That was super cool. I was with my son, too, who thought it was instant street cred.

Do you ever think about hosting SNL? Did you host SNL? When Julianna Margulies was the host, I did a pre -tape sketch with her. So I got to go out on stage and wave, which was super cool. And DMX was the musical guest. And I'm waving to everybody. I feel this like, oh. And I turn and DMX is like, come on, man. Like, I'm holding out of my hand.

I was like, I'm so sorry. DMX, I'm so sorry. Mr. X. I'm so sorry. I would love to. I would love to. You would be. I would love to. And I recently met Lauren, you know. You should do it. And kind of put the bee in his bonnet, as they say. Yes, I think you would love it. I would love it. I would live at the studio all week. I would just eat it up.

Don't overthink it. Okay. Don't live at the studio too much. You don't want a Sean Cassidy on your hands. That's a really good point. Or a Kevin Bacon. Oh, I've got so many.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Great warning. Just go home at night. Yeah, right. And enjoy. Take a load off. Don't work too hard. I got pizzas!

No? Don't be that guy. Oh my God. So many times I've been that guy. So many times. But you know what? I always want to go down swinging. I think you're that way too. Yes. Like no one's going to accuse you of not caring. No, I will try and try and try. Yeah. And I think it would be amazing. I mean, since I was a kid, I watched the first cast in reruns, but my first cast was the Eddie Murphy.

Yeah, exactly. We were the same age. Yeah. It was just like, you know, I'd do every Joe Piscoe bit. Yeah. I could do them all. Tim Kazerinsky. I could do all his stuff.

I met Eddie once when I was a kid. You did? I asked him for his autograph and I said, I really like you on SNL. And he goes, what are you doing up that late? And I said, duh.

And I said, can I have your autograph? He goes, fuck off, man.

And how old are you? Like nine. So I always sign an autograph. Whenever a nine -year -old needs an autograph for me, I sign that so fast. You want to hear a great story? So I've told this story in my house. And last year for my birthday, my daughter didn't know what to get me. So I let my 10 -year -old daughter printed up a picture of Eddie Murphy and then wrote on it, dear Noah, you're a great kid, Eddie Murphy.

And she spelled Eddie E -D -D -Y. And I have it framed in my office. It's the greatest gift that my 10 -year -old thought, you know what? And then she came up with a story. She's like, dad, you're never going to believe who mom and I saw yesterday. Eddie Murphy. And we got what you've always wanted, his autograph. And then they gave me the gift.

Oh, Frances. Isn't that awesome? Oh, you're the best. She's a doll. She's the best. She's the best. Oh, my God. What a great– I love that story. And I also love Eddie's story, too. I don't think– I think we've turned– we've treated kids too nicely sometimes You know You used to be able to tell a kid to scram At least Scram, you get out of here And now, God forbid Alright, let's end it on that note

Noah Wyle, everybody Thank you Noah, thank you for doing this

Thank you so much, Noah It was such a delight to talk to you And thank you for tolerating all of my fan questions And for the work that you do And we mentioned a movie When we were discussing some of the legends And that movie is Norma Rae If you have not seen Norma Rae I understand why Because it's so hard to find on streaming So if there's any people listening right now That like, I don't know Like Jerry Netflix or Dave Amazon Or whoever is owning those places That can like flip a switch And get Norma Rae on streaming Please That film is so incredible It's, Sally Field plays Like a southern mill worker Who encourages her factory to unionize And it's so, so good And

also, you know Ties into a lot of what Noah was talking about So check out Norma Rae On DVD, I guess

And remember those And thank you, Sally Field For that performance And thank you everybody for listening And see you soon Bye You've been listening to Good Hang The executive producers for this show Are Bill Simmons Jenna Weiss -Berman And me, Amy Poehler The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite For The Ringer Production by Jack Wilson Kat Spillane Kaya McMullen Alea Zanaris Bridget Geerlings Paige Garbarini Belle Roman Andrew Van Steenbergen For Paper Kite Production by Sam Green Joel Lovell And Jenna Weiss -Berman Original music by Amy Miles This episode is brought to you by Whole Foods Market Fall is here And Whole Foods Market Has everything you need For cozy

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