“George still owes me that $5,” says George Clooney’s colleague and ER co-star Abraham
Benrubi. Benrubi was sure that ER was going to be the
No. 1 show on TV by its fifth episode. But Clooney said, no way. The two actors made
a bet. And ER shot to No. 1 even faster, just after the fourth episode.
Clooney also shot to Hollywood’s No. 1 actor thanks to the show he was so sceptical about.
Surely, he can now afford to pay his debt off!
ER ran for 15 seasons and had 331 episodes; it changed the history of television and helped
its stars to launch, boost or redefine their careers. Maria Bello, Goran Visnjic, John
Stamos, Julianna Margulies, the revered Ming-Na Wen and Angela Bassett, just to name a few.
Truly a stellar list of actors. We at RumourJuice traced the lives of our
beloved ER cast members to see what new and exciting things they are up to today. After
all, it’s been eleven years since the show went off air - and the first episode was broadcast
almost twenty-six years ago. Ready? Don’t forget to subscribe to our
YouTube channel, and let’s start our journey into the world of ER.
Anthony Edwards’ bravery
We guess we should make a spoiler alert, even for a show that ended years and years ago.
So, spoiler alert! Anthony Edwards’ character Dr. Mark Greene died from a brain tumour after
spending 8 years on the show. The actor was among the many cast members who returned in
the flashback episode of the final season. For his performance, he received a Golden
Globe award and six Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since his ER days, the actor has been in Law
& Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, and in Netflix's Designated Survivor.
Anthony has four children, one son and three daughters, with former wife Jeanine Lobell.
The couple divorced in 2015 after 21 years of marriage.
In 2017, Edwards revealed that he and several of his friends were sexually assaulted by
screenwriter/producer Gary Goddard in the course of several years, starting when they
were 12 years old. Anthony Edwards is now leading an organization that helps men who
experienced sexual abuse.
Julianna Margulies traded scrubs for power suits
When the show’s original pilot was screened before the bosses of NBC, they were not pleased
with what they saw. Executive producers thought they’d never get the show to air. But hey,
we all know that the opposite was the case. A similar thing happened to actress Julianna
Margulies who portrayed Carol Hathaway. Carol wasn’t supposed to last on the show; the
character was to die from an overdose in the pilot. But Margulies performance impressed
the bosses! They didn’t want the actress to go. Margulies was offered over $20 million
to stick around after season six, but decided to exit the series. She traded her ER scrubs
for impeccably tailored power suits to star in the legal drama The Good Wife. The role
of Alicia Florrick earned her two Emmys for lead actress in a drama. After seven seasons
of The Good Wife, the actress returned to TV in dark comedy series Dietland. Sadly,
the show was canceled after one season. She is married to an attorney, and they have
a son.
The many faces of George Clooney Clooney is unforgettable as ER’s bad boy
Dr. Doug Ross. He departed after five seasons, but filmed a super-secret cameo in season
six and returned for a one-off episode in the final season.
By the way, Clooney had a choice between ER and a crime show. “George showed up in my
office and said he’d heard about our show, and he liked the part better than the legal
show,” says John Wells, ER’s executive producer.
While still on the show, Clooney began getting more and more calls from Hollywood and turned
into a busy actor, screenwriter, director, filmmaker and producer. He’s an 8-time Oscar
nominee and two-time Oscar winner. Clooney received the statuettes as a Best Supporting
Actor for Syriana, and as co-producer of Best Picture winner Argo.
We can enjoy his performances in many, many more great movies. But what’s more interesting,
Clooney doesn’t forget his TV roots. Recently, he produced, directed and starred in Hulu
miniseries Catch-22 based on the Joseph Heller novel.
The actor is recognized for his political and economic activism. He’s one of the United
Nations Messengers, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. No wonder Times named
him as one of the Most Influential People in the World in their 2009 annual Time 100
list. After divorcing his first wife, actress Talia
Balsam, in 1993, Clooney went on to date a string of beautiful women and gained the reputation
of an enviable bachelor who isn’t ready to settle down. All this changed in 2013.
Clooney met Lebanese-British human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, and that was it. The
couple wed in 2014 and are parents to twins.
It’s been a while, Noah Wyle Good news, everyone! We will soon see Noah
Wyle star in the reimagining of action crime drama Leverage, and he’ll also direct a
couple of episodes. He’s also been in The Librarians and CBS's The Red Line.
Wyle’s ER character, Dr. John Carter, became the focus of the show when Anthony Edwards
departed. Fun story: Wyle secured the role when he pretended to draw blood from the casting
director with a pencil. The actor is married to his second wife, and has three kids.
Sherry Stringfield’s post-ER success A member of ER's original cast, Sherry Stringfield
decided to quit ER during its third season, despite being contractually tied to appear
in five. The reason? She wanted to spend more time with her then-boyfriend and stay out
of the spotlight. The actress, however, reprised her role of Dr. Susan Lewis in 2001… only
to quit four years later. Since then, Stringfield has appeared on several TV movies and shows
like Under The Dome and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. Sherry is now a divorced mother-of-two.
Alex Kingston, a legal alien Alex Kingston is an English TV and theater
actress known for her work both in Britain and the US. The charismatic Dr. Elizabeth
Corday stayed on ER for seven years, then turned into Dr Who's time-travelling maybe-wife
Professor River Song. She dated fellow actor Ralph Fiennes for ten
years, and the two were married for another four until Fiennes fell in love with another
woman and divorced Kingston. The actress went on to marry a German writer slash journalist
and had a daughter with him; their marriage ended as well. She is now married to television
producer Jonathan Stamp. Despite residing in the US for long stretches
of time and having many American friends, Kingston still regards herself as being British
through and through. And what is her advice to aspiring actors
who are auditioning for roles? To know your words inside out.
"I’ve helped people put themselves on tape and they just haven’t done the work,”
the actress says. “When you know your lines, you can throw it away and really start to
explore who your character is. It liberates you."
Goran Višnjić’s new chapter in life The smoldering Dr. Luka Kovac conquered our
hearts on seasons six through 13 on ER, as well as in a couple of guest appearances.
The Croatian actor has had zero trouble finding work post-ER. He’s appeared on Pan Am, Red
Widow, Extant, Timeless, and This Is Us. He joined the star-studded line-up for the 12th
series of legendary British show Doctor Who as Nikola Tesla. The actor was ecstatic about
the news! “I’ve always been a huge fan of Doctor
Who, so when the offer to play one of my favourite people in history came, it made me so happy
to be part of the show and it turned into this awesome, dream job,” Višnjić gushed.
Most recently, Višnjić has landed a role of Count Dracula in ABC series The Brides.
The actor has two adopted children and one biological child with his artist and sculptor
wife of over 20 years, Eva. He also has a daughter from an extramarital affair.
In 2019, the actor revealed that, after 20 years in the US, he was going to start a new
chapter in his life and move to the UK. “The kids, in America, miss greatly their
grandmother and grandfather,” the actor explained.
Ming-Na Wen continues being awesome Not only is Ming-Na Wen famous for playing
Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen on ER; she is also Mulan! The actress voiced the legendary character
for animated musical action films Mulan, and Mulan II, then in the video game Kingdom Hearts
II, and the animated comedy film Ralph Breaks the Internet.
She's provided voice work for a number of animated projects including The Batman, Phineas
and Ferb and Robot Chicken. She currently plays a starring role on ABC’s Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D, and has a role on the space western web television series The Mandalorian.
The actress starred in another medical drama series called Inconceivable, which is one
of the few American television series with an Asian American series lead. The actress
is trilingual and fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. Ming-Na Wen’s daughter, Michaela,
is following her mother’s footsteps in voice acting.
The ageless Angela Bassett Actress Angela Bassett was a late but unforgettable
addition to the ER series. She joined the cast as Dr. Catherine Banfield for the 15th
and final season. The stunning actress and activist began her career in the 1980s and
is highly sought-after. Younger generations will know her from roles
in Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, Mission Impossible: Fallout, Master of None,
Black Panther, American Horror Story anthology series, Bojack Horseman, and 9-1-1 on Fox.
Angela shares twins - son Slater and daughter Bronwyn - with her husband of more than 20
years, actor Courtney B. Vance.
The star power of John Stamos When Stamos joined the cast of ER, he already
was a big name in the industry. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for his role on the
soap opera General Hospital. Next, the role on ABC’s Full House solidified his career.
The series ended 25 years ago, but Stamos remains friends with his Full House co-stars.
In 2005, Stamos guest-starred in two episodes in season 12 of ER as paramedic-turned-intern
Tony Gates. A year later, he joined the cast as a series regular and stayed through the
end. Since his ER days, Stamos has appeared on Glee, The New Normal, Scream Queens, and
Netflix's hit thriller You. He also reprised his Full House role on Fuller House reboot,
which he also executive produces. He is now married to actress and model Caitlin
McHugh and has a son Billy.
Paul McCrane’s quiet married life As Entertainment Weekly wrote way back in
1999, Paul McCrane became TV's (quote) "reigning king of pain" and "surgeon general of provocation"
as Robert ”Rocket” Romano. We may still recognize him from his 1980 film
Fame where he played Montgomery MacNeil, memorable thanks to his luscious red hair.
He's had roles in The X-Files, 24, Ugly Betty, Under the Dome and CSI.
McCrane has been married to Dana Kellin, a jewelry designer, since 1998. They have two
kids together. A pretty sweet scenario for a well-known TV antagonist, huh?
ER will be remembered and celebrated as an excellent star-studded show, with crew and
cast doing their best to win our hearts. So tell us in the comments section below,
which ER character’s storyline you like best, and why?