George Clooney’s ‘ER’ reunion: It’s ‘a disaster for my marriage’ at 60
This A-list birthday boy isn’t in the mood to talk about how time flies.
The cast of NBC medical drama “ER” reunited for an Earth Day clean-water campaign this Thursday, and George Clooney stole the “Stars in the House” livestream, cracking up colleagues and viewers alike with his personal insights — including how he feels about his upcoming birthday.
“Here’s some fun. In about 10 days, I’ll be 60. So f–k off, all of you!” Clooney told the event’s packed YouTube screen, which required actors from the 1994-2009 series to appear in separate groups, since so many of them logged on for the event.
In addition to Clooney, other “ER” alumni who participated in former co-star Gloria Reuben’s Waterkeeper Alliance fundraising event included Noah Wyle, Anthony Edwards, Laura Innes and Julianna Margulies. The event was part of the “Stars in the House” pandemic celebrity livestream series, which also raises money for the Actors Fund. When they signed off Thursday night, the “ER” reunion had already raised nearly $50,000 in donations for the global clean water charity — which promised fund matching up to $100,000.
Clooney also mentioned during the two-hour chat that his wife, Amal Clooney, has been watching reruns of the show recently, which has been a “disastrous thing for me, because I forget all the terrible things I did as Dr. [Doug] Ross,” Clooney said, referring to his character on the show.
“My wife keeps going, ‘Is that it? Are you done? Season 3, do you settle down with Nurse Hathaway?’ ” She was referring to the drawn-out and fraught relationship between the two characters, which certainly did not end happily ever after with Season 3.
“It’s been a disaster for my marriage,” he quipped.
Other highlights from the conversation included a cast discussion of what a contemporary show similar to “ER” would look like today.
“We came on the air in 1994, right when Bill Clinton [was] going to revamp the health care industry. We were in the national conversation about what health care was going to be in America,” said Wyle, who played Dr. John Carter in the series, adding that a modern “ER” remake “would be an interesting show to see.”
However, cast members were generally in agreement that the series is not in need of a reboot. “You can’t catch lightning in a bottle twice,” said Nurse Carol Hathaway actor Margulies.
