ER star Noah Wyle almost sold his home due to financial problems

Noah Wyle has opened up about the brutal rollercoaster of a career that led him to star in The Pitt, more than 15 years after his first hit series, ER, ended.

Wyle, 54, has once again become one of the most talked about TV stars of recent years, thanks to the incredible success of the hit medical drama.

But while his ER co-star and close friend, George Clooney, went on to achieve Hollywood success after leaving the series in 1999, Wyle faced serious financial difficulties.

Wyle, who lives on a growing ranch in Santa Ynez, California, opened up about his struggles in an interview with The New York Times.

While the TV star appeared in a few projects after ER, nothing she did seemed to mirror the success of that first big hit. He soon found that interest in his work began to wane.

The Golden Globe nominee told the NY Times that things got so dark, he considered selling his baseball card collection to raise more money.

Wyle also came up with the idea of ​​selling his long-held home.

According to the Realtor, the property was put on the market for less than $6.5 million ($A9.7 million) in March 2020, however, the listing was withdrawn in June of that year.

It is not clear whether the actor decided to list the house because of the money problem he was facing at the time.

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Noah Wyle has opened up about the difficult career battle that led him to play the role of The Pitt. Image: Foxtel/HBO

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Wyle had purchased the property during his final years filming ER, explaining to Cowboys & Indians magazine in 2019 that he wanted his children to be raised more in the countryside, without being too far from Los Angeles.

“I needed to be close to Los Angeles geographically to be able to do something, but I didn’t want to raise my children in Los Angeles,” he explained.

“I grew up in Los Angeles. I’m an Angeleno, and I wanted something a little more rural and a little less hectic than the city life for my kids.

“Two hours was about as far as I could drive after work on a Friday night to the ER and not fall asleep at the wheel.”

The father of three noted that the family has welcomed a number of wild animals to the farm, including adding more animals to their litter, from pigs and chickens to horses, dogs and cats.

Before moving to the ranch, Wyle and his family lived in an estate in Los Feliz, which he sold in 2004, listing the property for $US3.8 million ($A5.6 million).

Property records show the actor has listed a Santa Ynez, California, ranch for sale in 2020. Image: Google Maps

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Speaking to the NY Times, Wyle did not specify how bad his financial problems became, but he credits the Covid-19 pandemic with helping him find a new purpose in his life, in part because, instead of not being able to find a really important job, he was forced to stop working altogether.

While this may not have helped him financially, it did lead to a resurgence in popularity — as medical professionals began turning to Wyle and his ER colleagues for a form of comfort.

Just as the worst effects of the pandemic began to subside, Hollywood was rocked by another major upset in the form of the writers’ and actors’ strikes, which effectively shut down the industry for several months.

Despite feeling “very depressed” at the time, Wyle told the NY Times that the moment gave him a renewed sense of purpose, a reason to get out of the house and participate in something important.

In all this, the actor said he only wishes for one thing: “Please join me with high-quality musicians who have good hearts and good minds who do meaningful work.

Wyle, 54, admitted that after the success of ER he faced financial difficulties.

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As it turns out, that wish will come true with The Pitt, which Wyle began working on in 2021, alongside writer and producer R. Scott Gemmill, and producer John Wells, who both collaborated on ER.

The idea for the series began as a follow-up to ER, which would have followed Wyle’s character, John Carter, through the Covid-19 pandemic – although that idea was later shelved in favor of a show focusing on the new lead doctor, Dr. Robby, who works at a fictional hospital in Pittsburgh.

Wyle admits they played it for the first time with no real idea of ​​how it would work – but they discovered that lightning really can strike twice, with many viewers flocking to binge on the first series, which chronicles a day in the emergency room, hour by hour.

The series was renewed for a second season before the first installment of episodes finished airing.

Pitt took home a slew of big awards at the 2025 Emmy Awards, taking home Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, won by Wyle, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for his co-star, Katherine LaNasa.

Speaking to Variety at the premiere of The Pitt’s second season, Wyle admitted he was surprised by the show’s response, telling the newspaper on the red carpet: “I didn’t think the light would strike twice in my life, 30 years apart … the greatest gift of all.”

When asked if he had a message for his child, he was quick to share: “Don’t worry too much, it’s going to be fine. Don’t sell your baseball collection.”

Portions of this story originally appeared on Realtor and are republished with permission.

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