Noah Wyle looks back on ‘Friends’ cameo with George Clooney

Noah Wyle is looking back at his and fellow ER costar George Clooney’s brief but unforgettable season 1 cameo on Friends. 

The Pitt star, 53, reflected on the pair’s appearance on the beloved sitcom’s very first two-part episode (the aptly titled “The One With Two Parts, Part 2”) and his already-established connections to its cast during a recent installment of Entertainment Weekly’s the Awardist podcast. 

“We were also collegiate back in the old days. I knew a lot of them before our shows broke,” Wyle explained. “I was friends with Matthew [Perry], I was friends with Jennifer [Aniston]. I knew a lot of people that knew David [Schwimmer] and Lisa [Kudrow].”

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Wyle explained that he knew Aniston because she had been roommates with an ex-girlfriend of his. 

“It was all very social and collegiate. We all auditioned for the same stuff,” he recalled. “And then we got on these shows that were on the same network, same night, same studio, same lot. And we sold them together and then we would go over and watch them tape, and then it just seemed like the lowest hanging fruit to cross-pollinate for the network to have us be on their show.”

And, given the actors all got along so well, a crossover just made sense. “But it seemed totally natural because we were all hanging out anyway,” he said. “I go back and I’ve seen those clips now and I just can’t believe what a baby face I have — I look more like my 19-year-old daughter than I do now. It’s crazy.” 

Taking a page from ER — which premiered alongside Friends in 1994 — the hilarious cameo saw Wyle and Clooney play two doctors who go on a dramatic double date with Rachel (Aniston) and Monica (Courteney Cox)… kinda. See, the entire time, the physicians are unaware that ‘Rachel’ is actually Monica, and that ‘Monica’ is really Rachel. Chaos, naturally, ensues. 

Wyle noted that he can still distinctly recall just how excited he was for the opportunity even 30 years down the line.

“I remember thinking it was almost like a gas that we were doing it. It was just doing a walk-on. I didn’t think it had any pressure or attendant pageantry. That’s how naive I was,” he added. “I’m sure at all the levels above us, they were just thrilled at this like, ‘We’re taking the guys from the ER! We’re putting them on Friends!’” 

ER — which rounded out its original cast with performances by Anthony Edwards, Sherry Stringfield, and Eriq La Salle — would go on to become a medical megahit for NBC and take home 23 Emmy awards during its 15-season run from 1994 until 2009.

Friends, which was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, was equally successful, winning six Emmy awards across its 10 seasons. The show and its cast members also continue to remain just as engrained in popular culture as they were when it first premiered.

Listen to Wyle discuss the cameo — and his thoughts on a second season of The Pitt — in the podcast above.