Discover Shocking Secrets from ER 30 Years Later
1. ER was originally planned to be a movie in 1974, with Steven Spielberg set to direct a script written by Michael Crichton. The movie was supposed to be a documentary-style film depicting events in an emergency room over 24 hours, inspired by Crichton’s time as a med student in Boston. However, the movie never materialized and the project was put on hold for almost two decades until NBC showed interest in turning it into a TV series.
2. Despite Carol becoming a beloved character on the show, she was not meant to appear beyond the pilot episode. The original script had her character, played by Margulies, dying. However, test audiences reacted positively to the character, leading to a last-minute addition of a line explaining her survival after a suicide attempt.
3. Margulies later revealed that it was actually Clooney who persuaded her to stay on ER and not accept a role in a CBS sitcom that was being offered to her. The Good Wife star shared, “He called me unexpectedly and advocated for me, saying, ‘I heard that your character tested well… If I were you, I wouldn’t take another job because I believe they will bring you back to life.”