| Article from the entertainment section of an aussie paper - today's issue |
[22 May 2003|10:15pm] |
Patient Doctor
Patience has paid off for Noah Wyle, who has made his way to the top of the heap on long running drama ER. Michele Manelis reports.
It was nine years ago when Noah Wyle first hooked a stethscope around his neck and became Dr John Carter.
Sitting at his desk, surrounded by X-ray machines and medical paraphernalia, Wyle looks at home.
The set of ER is a hive of activity, and actors dressed in physicians' regalia buzz around the makeshift hospital on the Warner Bros lot.
"It's great that over the years of being on the show, I've slowly climbed up the call sheet and I am now No. 1 on the list." He says.
"It's extremely rewarding to come full circle. I began as a third-level medical student and I'm now chief resident and administrator of the hospital. For an actor, there are very few challenges as dramatic as playing the same character for nine years while keeping him realistic and plausible," he says. "But I'm as excited about ER as I've always been."
When Wyle, 32, became the central character replacing Anthony Edwards, who took over the reins from George Clooney, he was ready to accept the challenge of playing the lead.
"It was scary at first, but I've settled in. I think with the additions of Sharif Atkins and Mekhi Phifer and with the exits of Eriq (La Salle) and Tony (Edwards), it was a nice changing of the guard where characters who have been here for a very long time had moved on. It's great to have some younger, hungrier people."
"It's brought a new energy and brought it back to where it was in the first couple of seasons. And for me personally, to have my character show maturation in his personal and professional life has been very rewarding."
As with many actors, one of the rewards of his chosen career meant never having to be a slave to routine.
"It's ironic. The one thing I never wanted to do in life was punch a clock, but here I am working nine to five, everyday and I have done it for many years," he says.
"A few years ago, I thought about jumping ship. But then I stopped and looked around and said to myself, 'As an actor, it doesn't get much better than this.' This is an opportunity that comes along in an actor's life maybe once, and ER has been a touchstone for everyone that's been involved, both in terms of creative satisfaction adn certainly financial stability."
"Because of ER I am insured against having certain worries for the rest of my life. I don't take that for granted."
Refreshingly, Wyle is appreciative of his coveted position. "Payback is very important to me, and I have systematcially been able to go back over the years and either verbally thank or financially reward anybody who's given me any assistance along the way."
"I think that's very important, I want to make sure I've evened the scales to some degree," he says. "It keeps my feet on the ground. It keeps my head balanced and my karma in check. Not only that but I sleep very well at night because of it."
During ER's hiatus, Wyle has dabble in darker roles on the big screen. "There was a novelty factor in casting me in bad guy/morally ambiguous roles like in Enough or White Oleander. There's something really liberating about playing a heavy guy, especially when I play such a well intentional person all the time on the TV show."
He pauses, "So you were one of the 10 people who saw Enough?" he jokes.
"It must have been the only J-Lo movie which didn't make $100 million."
Currently sifting through scripts, Wyle is undecided abou what he will do during the hiatust his year. But now with his wife, Tracy, a former make up artist, and baby son, Owen Strausser, born in November, his thoughts and priorities have changed drastically and he is less keen to rush out to another movie set.
"Since Owen, my life has changed so dramatically in every way. Fatherhood changes everything. I can't even speak about it articulately, but it's great to know that I can be so madly in love with someone who's not my wife and not have it ruin my marriage," he laughs, eyes watering.
Not surprisingly, Wyle was present for his son's birth.
"It was sobering to know that I understood everything the doctor was talking about during my wife's labour. I definitely understand now how ignorance can be bliss in certain situations. Having been a doctor on a TV show all this time, I know how everything works - in theory."
"It's weird to have this kind of background knowledge of all things that could potentially grow wrong. I was watching the baby monitor with an educated eye, maybe a too educated eye just because I've done a hundred episodes where the baby was experiencing fetal distress," he recalls.
"But the nice thing about being on a medical show is you get really good health care if you have to go into a hospital. You just bring a stack of 8x10 photographs and sign away and you'll get taken care of."
Although his wife was part of the showbiz community, it's always going to be tough to see your partner in intimate situations on screen.
"It's never easy. But she doesn't worry about it. Yesterday, we celebrated the eight anniversary of our first kiss," he smiles.
"Eight years is a long time to build trust up. As an actor, those scenes are no different than any other scenes. In fact, I'm less comfortable doing those than just about anything else." he says, "She doesn't leave the room or anything like that when a kissing scene will come on TV. She's not squeamish that way, although I know I would be if the situation were reverse," he laughs. "She's able to watch objectively. Often she'll even tell me how it could have been better!"
Wyle is signed for one more season and talks a little about the future for Dr Carter.
"I'm excited he will go on a Doctors of the World trip to aid refugees in Third World countries." For Wyle, this is a case of art imitating life.
"I've been very passionate in the last two years about Doctors of the World. I had an opportunity to do some travelling and went to Macedonia and visited a refugee camp. It was a life-changing experience for me," he says.
"It'll be good for the show, too. It's a nice contrast between our inner city hospital, where, even though we don't have a lot of funds, our equipment is an embarrassment of riches when you see what these hospitals are like in Third world countries."
"From my own first hand experience, I saw that in some countries, latex gloves are a rare commodity and sterilisation is a pipedream. They use the same instruments over and over again. In America, you have to throw everything out after one use."
Despite his years on one of the highest rating television dramas, Wyle is still uneasy about his fame.
"It's still weird to me. I'm still taken aback when I hear my name mentioned in a resturant. It's just easier to live life not believing any of it. It keeps you grounded and it makes all your dealings a lot simpler. I am sort of continually surprised by it."
Having recently celebrated its 200th episode in the US, Wyle says, "We're now occupying that rarefied space. Only five or six other television shows have reached that milestone."
"And if ratings stay consistent, the show may run for 12, if not 14 seasons." he says.
"In a lot of ways when Tony left, it was the perfect time to leave. There will come a point in time when my character should leave too."
"When the storyline is not fresh anymore, hopefully I'll be the first to notice it, and will bow out gracefully rather than sticking around a little longer than I should. I think I'll know when it's time to pass the torch, or rather, pass the stethescope."
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