For five years in a row, from 1995 to 1999, Jewsh actor Noah Wyle got Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor In a Drama Series for his role as Dr. John Carter in the hit medical show “ER.”
And yet, in that half-decade of him being objectively so incredible in the show, he never went home with the statuette.
Twenty-six years later, Wyle is once again nominated for an Emmy, this time for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for his role in another medical drama, “The Pitt.” Created by the makers of “ER,” “The Pitt” features Wyle as the amazing Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch.
All we can say here at Kveller is that this year, his luck deserves to change! And because I’m a Jewish mother, I will add a kinehora, to not invite in the evil eye.
Now, I understand that Wyle’s category is rife with talent.
There’s Pedro Pascal, who broke my heart as Joel in HBO Max’s post-apocalyptic “The Last of Us.”
There’s legend of the small and big screen Gary Oldman, who is nominated for his role in Apple TV+ spy drama “Slow Horses.”
There’s the indomitable Sterling K. Brown, nominated for his role in the Hulu show “Paradise.”
There’s Adam Scott, who stunned me speechless in the latest season of “Severance,” where he plays two versions of his character Mark (his work “innie” and outside life “outtie”).
And yet, I still maintain that Wyle deserves to go home with that sculpture of a winged woman holding an atom. (Side note: Why are award statues so weird? Would love to discuss at a later date.)
Wyle co-created “The Pitt” and is also executive producer of the show, along with John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill. In it, he plays a role that humanizes the medical profession in a way that’s never been done before.
The show, which is very much an ensemble show that lets its diverse cast — which includes Afro-Latina Jewish actress Alexandra Metz — shine, is, in every way, the definition of tikkun olam.
It was created to draw attention to the plight of doctors workin in ER’s across the nation, to show how overburdened they are as they have to juggle the best interests of their patients, hospital management and medical insurance companies. It’s about how so many of them still live with trauma from the early months and years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wyle’s mother, nurse Marjorie Wyle-Katz, kvelled about how proud she is of her son and how he’s using this show as a platform for change in a joint interview about their medical advocacy.
In “The Pitt,” which takes place over a 15-hour ER shift, Dr. Robby leads his team of medical professionals through a harrowing journey, one full of medical challenges, anti-vaxxers, mass shooters and so much more.
It’s all compelling, but the moment that Dr. Robby breaks in the show is one of the most moving moments I’ve ever seen on TV, Jewish or otherwise. It is oh-so-award worthy.
As Dr. Robby breaks down on the floor of the children’s-ER-turned-temporary-morgue, the doctor, who shared that he’s Jewish in an earlier episode, recites the Shema prayer through tears.
It’s a moment of heartbreak, and also about how one finds comfort in Jewish ritual, its familiarity, the fact that it’s been passed down from generation to generation, even in the darkest of times.
The character’s Jewish identity was, in fact, inspired by Wyle’s own Jewish family background, and it gives his character so much depth.
I will definitely be bummed if Wyle doesn’t go home a winner from the 77th Emmy Awards this Sept. 14, but I will say this: In my heart, Noah Wyle is already a winner.
