The actors, both nominated in the same Emmys category for their work on “Severance” and “The Pitt,” crossed paths 30 years ago in the O.R.

Adam Scott recalls being operated on by Noah Wyle in early ER role: ‘I was freaking out’

The actors, both nominated in the same Emmys category for their work on "Severance" and "The Pitt," crossed paths 30 years ago in the O.R.

By Ryan Coleman

Published on July 26, 2025 01:00PM EDT

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Adam Scott and Noah Wyle in 2025. Credit:

John Nacion/Variety via Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty for Warner Bros. Discovery

Hollywood is a small town, but its ludicrous even by Hollywood's standards that two actors nominated in this year's Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy for different series once shared the screen in an intimate surgery scene 30 years ago.

But Adam Scott remembers his time playing patient to Noah Wyle's medical student John Carter on *ER *like it was yesterday.

"I was super nervous. It was one of my first jobs, and *ER* was a new show," Scott tells ** Editorial Director Gerrad Hall on this week's episode of EW's *Awardist* podcast. Scott stopped by to celebrate his recent Emmy nod for his work on *Severance *season 2. But he stuck around to reminisce in great detail on his chance encounter with Wyle, who's nominated alongside him this year for his performance on the premiere season of the gritty medical drama *The Pitt*.

Scott recalls, "I remember being really nervous, and Noah was lovely and cool, and I was freaking out. But he was cool as a cucumber. What I do remember is my character had a breathing thing in my nose, and it was a long one of me being pushed down the hallway on the gurney, and then put into a room, and then there's a whole scene in there."

Adam Scott undergoing an operation on 'ER'.

Wyle's calm confidence went as far as it could to soothe Scott's frayed nerves, but it couldn't cover for the flub that eventually followed.**

"On one of these long, crazy, two-minute takes, I forgot to put the breathing thing back in my nose," Scott shares. "I remember someone, maybe it was an AD or something, getting palpably pissed at me, and thinking my career was over."

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Scott appeared in a brief guest role on the 1995, season 2 episode, "Full Moon, Saturday Night." He played David Kerstetter, the victim of a car crash who's stitched up by Wyle's character, by that point a fourth-year medical student eager to prove his mettle. Carter is assisted by Ming-Na Wen's Dr. Jing-Mei Chen, who goads Carter about his slow pace, which piques the worry of an only partly anesthetized David.

"He's screwing up?" David asks, prompting Carter to caution, "Relax!"

David Kerstetter was only Scott's second credited role, third total after an uncredited appearance in the music video for R.E.M.'s 1992 single "Drive." Coming at such a critical juncture, Scott managed to recall more than just the specifics of his scenes.

"The week I was there, I remember this vividly, it was right when the show was cresting success and becoming a really big deal," Scott shares. "The week I was there, George Clooney was on the cover of *TV Guide* for the first time, and it was a huge deal on set. People were like, 'It's so weird. George is on the cover of a magazine,* TV Guide. *Can you believe?'"

Noah Wyle for 'ER'.

NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection

*ER *premiered on NBC in 1994, a year and network that should ring bells for *Friends *fans, as the iconic sitcom aired its pilot the same month on the Peacock Network. And Scott had an encounter with the famous sitcom pals as well.

"I remember walking to my dressing room and walking by the *Friends* stage, which was right next to the *ER* stage, if I'm remembering correctly, and seeing the entire *Friends* cast sitting outside smoking and being like, 'Oh, whoa, that's that new show, *Friends,*'" he recalls. "And little did I know I was in the midst of this huge piece of TV history."****

***Check out more from EW's *The Awardist,* featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best films, TV, and music.***

Both being major contenders this awards season, category buddies to boot, Scott and Wyle are traveling in quite similar circles this awards season. Though Scott hasn't run into the junior doctor who saved his life on the awards trail just yet, he says, "I hope to get to."

Come September, Scott and Wyle will certainly cross paths at the 2025 Emmy Awards, where they'll compete against Sterling K. Brown (*Paradise*), Gary Oldman (*Slow Horses*), and Pedro Pascal* *(*The Last of Us*) for one of the evening's most coveted awards.

Listen to the full episode of EW's *Awardist* podcast above.

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Source: “AOL TV”