Noah Wyle’s nurse mum told him off for unrealistic acting in ‘ER’
Noah Wyle’s nurse mother scolded him for his unrealistic acting in ‘ER’ seconds after his episodes aired.
The actor, 53, played Dr John Carter in the hit emergency room drama from 1994 to 2006, and told Steve Kmeto on his ‘Still Here, Hollywood’ podcast his mum Marjorie – who worked for 10 years in operating rooms and another decade as an orthopaedic nurse – would call him as soon as the shows ended to review how medically accurate his actions were.
He said: “She would call 11:01(pm – when the show ended on TV) and say, ‘You never touch your face with bloody gloves! What? Do you wanna get AIDS? I’ve gotta go to the hospital tomorrow and answer for that.’
“And I said, “Okay. Okay.’”
Noah also joked there was a “fine line” between his mother’s advice and criticism, saying: “At least she had an interest” – before joking: “A vested interest.”
He also said he used to tell his mother what was going to happen during each episode.
Noah went on: “She would know what was coming up on the storyline, so she was very in the know.”
The actor said even though his mother didn’t always rate the realism of his ‘ER’ work, his time in the medical drama did come in useful in real life.
He added: “You learn enough to know how little you know and how much you could do wrong and how you could really make a huge mistake.
“I’ve been the first on scene in a car accident twice. I knew enough to be helpful and supportive – didn’t do anything that caused any harm.
“But it was very funny when the paramedics showed up, (saying when they recognised me), ‘Whoa – oh, yeah. We got a fake!’”
