Adam Scott is currently the Emmy-nominated star of Severance, but there was once a time when he was trying to make the most out of a day-player role on ER, a hot new show in 1995. 30 years later, he is competing against former ER star Noah Wyle for the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, a full circle moment for Scott. Now, the actor is detailing what it was like to be on the ER set as an up and coming actor, and working with the star of The Pitt all those years ago.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Scott opened up about being truly terrified when he entered the ER set as a young actor in his early 20s. At the time ER was a brand new show, so it wasn’t yet the cultural touchstone it would soon become. However, a network drama was still a scary prospect for someone who hadn’t had that many acting jobs before. Scott said of the experience:
I was super nervous. It was one of my first jobs, and ER was a new show.
It’s been a while since this early career moment for Scott, but he still remembered details from his appearance, and the character he played including the situation he was put in. He acted opposite Wyle, who was also a very young star despite being a series regular. Scott remembers the ER star being very calm and collected, the very opposite of what the Parks and Recreation stand-out was feeling at that moment. He recalled:
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.
A part of the high stress on Scott's part wasn’t entirely just because of the pressure of being on a hit network show. Scott was supposed to be testy and irritable as his character had just been hit by a car. He is stitched up by Wyle’s character John Carter, and he is supposed to be anxious, later accusing Carter of not doing his job correctly. Scott does a great job in the scene, but the fact that his breathing tube kept falling out of his nose led to a fed-up crew, and an even more nervous actor. He remembered:
On one of these long, crazy, two-minute takes, I forgot to put the breathing thing back in my nose. I remember someone, maybe it was an AD or something, getting palpably pissed at me, and thinking my career was over.
Thankfully, Adam Scott’s career was far from over. He had a number of small roles throughout the 90s and early 2000s before transitioning into primarily comedy roles in movies like Step Brothers, and the HBO show Party Down. He seemed to be everywhere after landing the role as Ben Wyatt on Parks and Recreation, a series regular and a fan-favorite character. Now, he’s the star of the hit AppleTV+ show Severance, which has him competing at the 2025 Emmy Awards and was one of the most exciting shows on the 2025 TV schedule.
Ironically, his fiercest competition in the race is Noah Wyle, who is being recognized for his work in The Pitt, years after his star-making role in ER. It may have taken Scott a little more time, but now Wyle and Scott are peers in the industry, both being recognized for their tremendous performances. Their ER collaboration may just be a memory in Scott’s mind, but they are both so talented that I hope we get to see these two work together again, at least in some capacity.
You can revisit Adam Scott’s appearance in ER alongside Noah Wyle now, as the show is currently streaming early episodes with a Hulu subscription. Fans of Scott should also check him out in Severance, which is now available with an AppleTV+ subscription.
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