The charismatic star of HBO’s emergency room mega-hit The Pitt had to pass on a tempting part in Saving Private Ryan, actor Noah Wyle has revealed.
Wyle, 55, was committed at the time to his role as baby-faced intern Dr. John Carter on NBC’s long-running hit TV series ER.
“I was offered the part of Private Ryan in Saving Private Ryan,” Wyle revealed in a recent interview on the Still Here Hollywood podcast. ”Couldn’t get out of ER to do it.“
Wyle was initially offered the role of Corporal Timothy Upham in director Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning 1998 World War II epic. The part was ultimately played by Jeremy Davies. Wyle was then considered for the role of Private James Francis Ryan, who appears near the end of the movie, but that didn’t work out either. “C’est la vie,” said Wyle. Matt Damon played Ryan.
Wyle, however, has no regrets about missing the opportunity—and “tons” of others he was offered during his 11-year stretch on ER, which ran from 1994 to 2009.
There was a ”bunch” of roles he was offered but couldn’t take, he noted, including a part in the 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck, about CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow (played by David Strathairn) taking on “anti-Communist” crusader Sen. Joseph McCarthy (who appears in historical footage). Wyle was offered a part by his ER colleague George Clooney, who directed the film.
“In retrospect, I almost am glad that I didn’t do them, because… those guys made those parts,” he said. He shouted out Davies as being “so phenomenal” as Upham. “I couldn’t imagine doing anything close to what he did.”
Wyle eventually traded in his scrubs from ER for a new set to become Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, head of the emergency department at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, a.k.a. The Pitt.
Wyle isn’t only the star of The Pitt, but also a writer, director, and executive producer on the program. He became the first male actor to sweep all five major television acting honors for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series, with wins at the Emmys, Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, Actor Awards, and the Television Critics Association Awards.
ER proved to be a fertile ground for actors, propelling stars like Wyle, Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, Eriq La Salle, and Mariska Hargitay to even higher-profile careers.
