In the two decades since leaving ER, actor Noah Wyle has said he’s been trying to find ‘that sense of family’ and ‘commitment’ that he felt when he was on the hit medical drama alongside pal George Clooney.
While Clooney, 64, went on to scale the upper echelons of Hollywood, collecting Oscars and box office hits, Wyle, 54, struggled to break out of independent films and middle-of-the road TV series. He was on ER for 11 years.
At least that was until The Pitt.
Wyle helped create the wildly successful HBO Max hospital drama in which he plays Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, a grizzled and weary medic who works at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Each episode covers an intense one-hour shift.
After the first season premiered in January 2025 – the second season followed a year later – award nominations tallied up, with Wyle finally picking up a trophy at the Golden Globes earlier this year, followed by another win at the Actor Awards on March 1.
But his newfound euphoria is said to be masking struggles behind-the-scenes, with comments from one of his co-stars dredging up historic bullying allegations from his days on ER, and a lawsuit claiming The Pitt is a ‘copycat’ of the show that made his name.
Noah Wyle has won multiple awards for his role as Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch in The Pitt, including his most recent win at the Actor Awards on March 1
Wyle, 54, plays a grizzled and weary medic who works at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center in the medical drama on Max. Its second season premiered January 8
Suspicions piqued last summer when Shabana Azeez, who plays Dr. Victoria Javadi, revealed Wyle’s habit for mispronouncing her name in ‘multiple interviews.’
‘He’s called me Shabeena Azeez, which is not my name,’ she said at an event for the show.
Furthermore, she appeared to publicly criticize him during an interview with KTLA in January when she was asked if their time on the show has afforded them enough knowledge to be able to offer medical advice in real life.
‘Stop letting these actors tell you “yes”. Noah can’t save lives. He’s an actor… Actors cannot intubate,’ she insisted.
It is no surprise such comments have renewed interest in Wyle’s past, which saw him accused of being difficult to work with on ER. His co-stars Goran Višnjić, Erik Palladino, Michael Michele and Kellie Martin bore the brunt of his attitude.
‘When [Višnjić] came on to the show, I had a chip on my shoulder. I had a chip on my shoulder with anybody that came on that show,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019, in which he revealed he has since apologized to everyone for being harsh.
‘I’ve systematically gone to and apologized to everybody over the years about being the person that I was… We were really hard on people, and I was hard on people that were coming into the show like Erik Palladino or Michael Michele. Everybody had to earn their keep, in my opinion, especially poor Kellie Martin. I owe her a big apology.’
But the resurfacing of ancient allegations about his behavior is perhaps the lesser stress right now, considering he is at the center of an alleged unauthorized sequel lawsuit over the medical show.
Shabana Azeez, who plays Dr. Victoria Javadi in The Pitt, revealed Wyle’s habit for mispronouncing her name in ‘multiple interviews’
Wyle is pictured with his family – daughter Auden Wyle, wife Sara Wells and son Owen Strausser Wyle
Warner Bros. has argued back that The Pitt is an original work, not derivative, and that the estate’s claims are an assault on free expression. Pictured: Wyle and co-star Tracy Ifeachor on the show
In August 2024, the estate of ER creator Michael Crichton – Roadrunner JMTC – sued Wyle, Warner Bros. Television and others for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations.
In documents seen by the Daily Mail, Roadrunner JMTC claimed they were cut out of a potential deal after stalled negotiations for an ER reboot and Crichton’s widow, Sherri, alleged The Pitt is essentially the same show with cosmetic changes.
‘In the face of WBTV’s refusal to negotiate, Plaintiff’s representatives advised WBTV that Plaintiff intended to enforce its frozen rights, and that the planned ER reboot therefore could not proceed,’ the filing read.
‘This, in turn, caused both [showrunner John] Wells and Wyle to panic and to reach out to Sherri in a shameless attempt to pull at her heartstrings and induce Plaintiff to allow the reboot to proceed.
‘Wyle told Sherri that “I admire, respect and back your fight to protect [Crichton’s] legacy and authorship” and assured her that “was my sole intention here, as my gratitude to Michael will be everlasting.”‘
Further, it was alleged that Wyle revealed that the actor, producer and showrunner Scott Gemmill ‘had been secretly exploring and developing an ER reboot long before Wells reached out to Sherri.’
The docs continued: ‘In fact, Wyle had first reached out to Wells all the way back in February 2020 with the idea for a limited series that would pick up where ER had left off. Like the original series, the reboot would show the continuing collapse of urban hospital care as the COVID-19 pandemic, drug abuse, and chronic homelessness eroded the public health system.’
Warner Bros. denied the allegations and argued The Pitt is an original work, not derivative, and that the estate’s claims are an assault on free expression. A judge has allowed the case to proceed and has rejected Warner Bros. and the defendant’s request for an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss.
In new court filings obtained by the Daily Mail, the estate of Crichton continues to drag Wyle and the similiarities between ER and The Pitt. ‘Dr. Robby is Dr. Carter under a different name—the same character, 15 years older, in the same role, portrayed by the same actor, with the same personality traits and narrative function,’ they argue (pictured Wyle as Dr. Carter)
Wyle made millions while starring on ER, taking home around $9 million per season by 2001. He later returned for guest appearances in season 12 and had a five-episode arc in the final season, season 15, which concluded in April 2009
George Clooney and Wyle became good friends while starring on ER together. Unlike Clooney, who quit in 1999 and went on to secure multi-million-dollar deals, Wyles’ post-ER career was lackluster for the most part until he joined The Pitt
In October, Warner Bros. TV, Wyle, showrunner John Wells and others filed an appeal in California’s Court of Appeal.
‘There was no evidence that The Pitt was made by copying from or using ER, so there was no evidence that The Pitt was “derivative” of ER – even if the copyright test for a “derivative work” does not apply,’ the filing read.
In response to this, the Respondent’s Brief was filed in the Appellate Court on February 18 and reviewed by the Daily Mail. The latest document shows that Roadrunner JMTC is not backing down and continuing to claim the show has similarities, including Wyle portraying ‘the same basic character, only 15 years later’.
‘Dr. Robby is Dr. Carter under a different name – the same character, 15 years older, in the same role, portrayed by the same actor, with the same personality traits and narrative function,’ the estate of Crichton argues.
‘[ER and The Pitt] are not just generic hospital dramas; they are the same hospital drama with the same premise, themes, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, and sequence, and Wyle plays not just any doctor but the same emergency room attending physician, just with a different name.’
The ongoing lawsuit could cost the award-winner financially.
After Wyle left ER in 2005 to spend more time with his family, he admitted to severe money struggles and revealed he became ‘profoundly depressed.’
At the height of his early career, he was making millions on the show, taking home around $9 million per season by 2001. He later returned for guest appearances in season 12 and had a five-episode arc in the final season, season 15, which concluded in April 2009.
Wyle was married to make-up artist Tracy Warbin for 11 years until she filed for divorce in 2010 (pictured together in 1997 at the 54th Golden Globe Awards)
According to divorce records, Wyle had missed multiple payments of child and spousal support for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, which led to Warbin having to get a court involved
Wyle reportedly dated Gina Gershon in 2010 amid his divorce, although their relationship has never been confirmed. Gershon told the Daily Mail in a recent interview that she chose to leave out her past boyfriends in her new memoir (pictured in February 2026 at Daily Mail)
Unlike Clooney, who quit in 1999 and went on to secure a lengthy multi-million-dollar deal with Nespresso and land films including the Oceans franchise, Gravity and The Descendants, Wyles’ post-ER career was lackluster.
His was a stretch of poorly-rated TV movies, video game spots and series that failed to capture the zeitgeist in the same way as ER.
Fast-forward to the COVID pandemic, and Wyle was financially strapped, so much so that he was nearly forced to sell his longtime home in Santa Ynez for $6.5 million. He listed it in March 2020 for $6,495,000 but took it off the market three months later.
He also thought about selling his prized baseball card collection, he revealed during a recent New York Times interview.
But little did fans know he was also secretly dealing with the financial impact of his divorce, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
In June 2010, Tracy Warbin, Wyle’s first wife, filed for divorce after 11 years of marriage. She cited irreconcilable differences. The divorce came amid reports by The National Enquirer that he was dating actress Gina Gershon following his separation.
The alleged relationship has never been confirmed, but Gershon, for her part, revealed to the Daily Mail that she chose to leave out any mention of past ‘affairs’ and ‘boyfriends’ in her recently released memoir, AlphaPussy.
She told the Daily Mail in response to being asked about not writing about Wyle in her memoir: ‘If you read the book, you will notice I don’t speak about any of my affairs or boyfriends from the past. That is not what the book is about.’
Wyle’s wife Sara Wells, whom he married in 2014, has been supporting him at award ceremonies in Los Angeles (pictured at the Golden Globes in January)
Wyle took home Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards (pictured), followed by Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series at the Actor Awards on March 1
The actress did, however, say that she ‘couldn’t be happier for all of [Wyle’s] success with The Pitt,’ and that it’s ‘well deserved.’ She further remarked, ‘he is a great guy.’
Wyle shares two children with his ex: Owen and Auden, now 23 and 20 years old, respectively. He also has a daughter, Frances, 10, with his second wife Sara Wells, whom he married in 2014.
A judgment of Wyle’s divorce was entered in December 2010 and, according to a qualified domestic relations order, Wyle’s ex was awarded a total of nearly $214,000.
According to court filings, Wyle did not uphold his end of the deal by paying for child and spousal support for the years that followed.
In a 2016 filing, Warbin informed the court that Wyle owed her $233,328 in child support and $479,346 in spousal support. She wrote: ‘At this time, I am requesting enforcement of the Judgment, plus interest from December 31, 2014.’
She claimed that his income for the year of 2014 totaled over $3 million.
According to additional court documents in the case, dated 2018, he was unable to pay his share of child support for the years 2016 and 2017. Warbin informed the court that he owed her money from the past two years, although they had a ‘mutual goal to avoid involvement of the Court over issues that may be resolved by the parties on their own,’ the documents state.
‘The parties shall then meet and confer through their respective professionals which may include attorneys and accountants by March 1, 2019 to attempt to agree upon the amount owed by Respondent to Petitioner as and for additional spousal and child support for the calendar years 2016 and 2017.’
The latest filing, from January 2020, states that Wyle had ‘additional child support due for the year 2018,’ and that they ‘have engaged their own respective forensic accountants to determine the appropriate amount’ that was due in 2018.
It is unclear the actual amount that was paid to his ex, but the case has since been resolved as there have not been any new filings in the last six years.
The Daily Mail has reached out to attorneys for both parties on the lawsuit, Tracy Warbin’s attorney and Noah Wyle’s publicist for comment.
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