After weeks and weeks of FYC promotions, the 2025 Emmy Award nominations were revealed this week, and reactions have ranged from Kristen Bell’s pants-free cartwheels to star-studded text threads. Someone who took a humbled approach to the announcements was Noah Wyle, star of the hit freshman drama The Pitt, which earned a whopping 13 nominations between its on-screen cast and its behind-the-scenes talents.
Of course, Wyle is no stranger to garnering awards buzz, having earned 5 noms for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama for his excellent work as up-and-coming surgeon Dr. John Carter on ER. On his newest series, available to stream with an HBO Max subscription, Wyle plays the senior attending physician, and when asked by the L.A. Times what he did after learning the news, he answered in a way that speaks to his current status as the vet everyone looks up to on the set. In his words:
I looked at that list of nominees that I’m in the company of, and I send my congratulations to all of them. It’s incredibly gratifying and humbling to be included in their company. I’m going to celebrate quietly with my family and come back to work tomorrow.
Nothing showy or ostentatious about that reaction to say the least, and it’s more than possible that Wyle’s natural humility is balanced by just not wanting to be boastful about personally getting recognized by the TV Academy when many of his fellow co-stars did not. He would seemingly rather have the spotlight on the show as a whole — it’s nominated for the biggest award of the night, after all — so that everyone can feel valued.
Would that have always been in the case in his career? Noah Wyle himself doesn’t appear to think so. When asked for his memories about the last time he was nominated for an Emmy, which happened 26 years ago in 1999, Wyle copped to not taking it as seriously as he maybe should have, due to just how wildly successful and beloved ER was at the time, saying:
Talk about perspective. It was such a beautiful, wonderful, heady time for me that the last time I was nominated, I was annoyingly blasé about it, and if I had known that it was going to be 20-plus years before I was invited to the party again, I think I would have had a better time.
Success is one of the easiest things that anyone can take for granted, and it’s especially true in Hollywood, where Wyle went on to play Dr. Carter for another 7 seasons on ER, without any further Emmy nods to be found. So in the 26 years that have passed since, the actor has come to realize just how blessed he was at the time. If only there was a time machine to go back and teach such lessons earlier. Probably good to have to other things as well.
Despite the show's cast and crew experiencing such huge wins in the form of nominations — co-stars Shawn Hatosy and Katherine LaNasa were the other two cast members nominated — don't expect anyone to get a big head and lose a sense of what's important. When asked how he can go back to a normal day of work after such an announcement, Wyle said everyone will be readily returning to the jobs that earned them the acclaim in the first place, albeit with slightly more positive vibes.
Oh, so easily. I’m going [to] go in there, and we’re gonna get right back at it. I don’t know. I guess with a little bit of a bounce in our stride. When I look at the sound department, who works so hard on our show, parsing out all that overlapping dialogue — to see them get recognized, and see our makeup departments, both prosthetic and non-prosthetic, be recognized for their labor — everybody puts such pride into their work, and I am inspired by so many incredible artists who bring their expertise to this place every day. To see everybody be recognized makes it feel even more special, because it’s truly a group effort.
Whether The Pitt will actually take home any of those wins is yet to be seen. But fans can find out when, amidst other upcoming awards shows, the 77th annual Emmy Awards airs on CBS on Sunday, September 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET. But I don't want to know what Noah Wyle is capable of doing with a scalpel if the show doesn't win anything.
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