George Clooney, Noah Wyle reunite 30 years after ER in heartfelt awards night tribute

“I’m very proud to call him a friend, I’m also proud to call him a colleague," Clooney said about Wyle

George Clooney and Noah Wyle shared a warm and nostalgic reunion, reuniting three decades after their breakout roles on ER while celebrating each other at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards in Beverly Hills.

The pair, who helped define one of television’s most iconic medical dramas in the 1990s, took turns honoring one another with awards and heartfelt remarks that looked back on their friendship and careers.

While presenting Wyle with the Best TV Actor award for his work on The Pitt, Clooney joked about his longtime friend and suggested a playful new honor for him, saying, “I would nominate Noah Wyle as the first guy” for a hypothetical AARP “Sexiest Man Still Alive” issue.

Reflecting on how their careers began, Clooney shared memories from the early days of ER, recounting, “I met Noah in 1993. He hadn’t worked a lot yet and we did this show called ER, and it was this crazy hit. At one time we had 40 million people watching and I remember Noah going, ‘Is that good?’ I was like, ‘That’s good, that’ll never happen again.’”

He praised Wyle not just as a performer but as a person, calling him “the kindest person I ever met” and adding, “I’m very proud to call him a friend, I’m also proud to call him a colleague. When I grow up, I want to be Noah Wyle.”

An emotional Wyle responded with gratitude and admiration for Clooney, acknowledging the influence his friend had on his work and mindset early in their careers.

“You got me choked up there buddy,” he said, before recalling a defining moment from their first week on ER: “I remember vividly, the first week of ER, he called the entire cast into his trailer and said ‘OK everybody, this is how it’s gonna be. We’re going to be nice to everyone… we’re going to learn our lines, we’re going to be on time.’”

Wyle credited that ethos with shaping his approach to work for years, saying it set the tone for his own career and the sense of family he later rediscovered on The Pitt.

The reunion didn’t end there; Wyle later presented Clooney with his Best Actor award for Jay Kelly, offering his own praise as the two shared the stage once again.

Clooney used his acceptance to offer a message about kindness in the industry, emphasizing that “we live in a time of cruelty, we don’t need to be adding to it,” and adding a note of resilience and unity for the challenges ahead.