George Clooney had a heartwarming reunion with former ER costar Noah Wyle at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards on Saturday, January 10.
Wyle, 54, was chosen to present his longtime friend Clooney, 64, with the Best Actor (Movies) Award for Jay Kelly at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter shared footage of the former ER castmates sharing a hug as Clooney walked on stage to pick up his award.
As he stepped up to the microphone, Clooney made a joke about the age requirements for winning an award from the AARP. (The AARP Movies for Grownups Awards are given to actors 50 years and older.)
“Well, thank you! Thank you to the AARP,” Clooney began. “I have to say, Movies for Grownups just means, you know, old people.”
He then quipped. “I realized now that the only way I was going to win anything is that Timothée Chalamet is too god-damned young! Put that in your pipe, Mr. Timothée!”
With Chalamet, 30, definitely out of the running for AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, Clooney triumphed in the Best Actor (Movies) race over Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) and Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine).
It was a big night for both former ER cast members as Wyle won the Best Actor (TV) Award earlier in the show for his gripping portrayal of Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch on The Pitt. Wyle was nominated against Walton Goggins of The White Lotus, Stephen Graham (Adolescence), Slow Horses star Gary Oldman and The Last of Us’ Pedro Pascal.
Clooney was chosen to present Wyle with the award. From the podium, he joked that AARP should create a “sexiest man alive” list for people over 50.
“I would nominate Noah Wyle as the first guy,” Clooney declared.
Wyle recently hinted at an awards season reunion with Clooney while he was chatting with Access Hollywood on Wednesday, January 7, at the Los Angeles premiere of The Pitt season 2. (The second season of the medical drama launched on Thursday, January 8, on HBO Max.)
“We’re actually going to be reunited the night before [the Golden Globes] as we give each other AARP Awards,” Wyle said with a laugh. “I think [that] speaks more of the test of time.”
Wyle was asked how it felt to have forged such a close friendship with Clooney in the years since they worked together on ER. (Clooney played Dr. Doug Ross on ER from 1994 to 1999 while Wyle portrayed Dr. John Carter from 1994 until 2005.)
“I think [Clooney] is a lot of where I learned my perpetual gratitude,” the Pitt star explained. “He’s never, ever forgotten where he comes from and he’s never taken anything he has for granted.”
Wyle went on, “Anytime you’re around [Clooney], you can still see the enthusiasm for the work, for the storytelling, hasn’t diminished over the years. When I think of the two of us still doing what we love to do 30 years later, it’s like, they ain’t caught us yet!”
Clooney heaped his own praise on Wyle last summer when he told Late Night With Seth Meyers that Wyle’s current medical drama, The Pitt, is “so good.”
“I have to say, we’ve been really dear friends since [ER] — since we did the pilot of the show,” Clooney added. “He is just the most honorable, talented young man, [which] I get to say because I’m an old man. I cannot be happier for his success on the show. The show is just a beautiful show, and he does just a great job with it.”
Looking back on their ER years, Clooney remembered that he often struggled to remember the medical jargon in his dialogue, whereas Wyle “never had trouble.”
“He always could do it, and I hated him for that,” Clooney teased.
The Pitt shares connective tissue with ER beyond Wyle’s involvement. The five-time Emmy Award-winning series was created by R. Scott Gemmill, a former supervising producer and writer on ER.
The Pitt season 2 is streaming now on HBO Max.
