Noah Wyle said he was moved by George Clooney’s emotional remarks at the AARP Adult Film Awards on Saturday, January 10th.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – On the eve of the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, former “ER” co-stars Noah Wyle and George Clooney reunited at the AARP Awards, a testament to their decades-long friendship.
It was a big night for the former ER cast at the AARP Film Awards for Adults, with Wylie winning Best Actor in a Television Series for his role as Dr. Michael “Robbie” Robinavich in The Pit (Season 2 is available on HBO Max) and Clooney taking home Best Actor for his role in the Netflix film Jay Kelly.
On Saturday, January 10, Wiley, 54, and Clooney, 64, presented their awards, with Clooney singing his praises as an actor, father, friend, and man during his remarks, before proudly saying, “When I grow up, I want to be Noah Wyle.” From my seat, I could see Wiley raising his hand to his face, wiping tears from his eyes.
When she took the stage with Clooney to accept the award, she said she cried when she heard her longtime collaborator’s words.
Wylie also reflected on what he learned from his long association with Clooney, particularly during their time together on ER.
“I learned a lot of what I practice on the set of ‘The Pit’ professionally from this guy here,” he said. “I vividly remember the first week of ER. He called the whole cast into the trailer and said, ‘Okay, guys, this time it’s going to be different. We’re going to be nice to everyone. There’s no distinction between cast and crew or foreground and background.’
Wiley said that since starring in the medical drama, he had been trying to find “the emotion, the sense of family, the sense of dedication” that Clooney gave the cast and crew at the time. “I discovered it again for the first time in ‘The Pit,'” he added.
“This is the second time in my life I’ve been struck by lightning,” he continued. “And I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen again. But I’m very conscious of standing firm in all of this and keeping my eyes clear.”
George Clooney takes joking jab at Timothée Chalamet in AARP Awards acceptance speech
Clooney, who won the Best Actor award for “Jay Kelly,” joked about the age requirements for winning the AARP Award. “Now I realize the only way I’m going to win anything is if Timothée Chalamet is too fucking young! Put that in your pipes, Mr. Timothée!” Clooney said.
“How old were you when I was… Paul (Mescal)? When I was 29 and I heard someone died at 64, I thought they lived a good life. And now, what are you saying?”
George Clooney addresses Quentin Tarantino’s comments about Paul Dano and Matthew Lillard
During his Best Actor acceptance speech, Clooney took time to comment on actors Paul Dano, whom director Quentin Tarantino called a “weak source” in December, and Matthew Lillard, who he said he had no interest in as an actor.
“‘Jay Kelly’ is a movie about people who love actors, and it was made by people who love actors,” Clooney said. “That’s an important part of this… You know, the people in this room, and the people I’ve known best my whole life, in fact, most of them are actors and I have a very close affinity with them. I don’t like to see people be cruel to actors.”
“By the way, it’s an honor to work with Paul Dano, Owen Wilson, Matthew Lillard, those actors. It’s an honor,” Clooney said to applause from the audience. “We live in cruel times. We don’t need more of it.”
