Bang! The emergency room doors swing open. Crash! An unattended patient wreaks havoc with the receptionist's chair. Ding! Med student John Carter makes a call in search of an apartment as ER pediatrician Douglas Ross hunts down something to eat. Boom! Surgical resident Peter Benton helps EMT guys wheel a 20-year-old victim of a stabbing into Trauma Room 2. ''Suction!'' Benton yells as he tries unsuccessfully to intubate. A few tense seconds later he surgically opens an airway, announcing to his team: ''All right, ladies and gentleman, I believe we have ourselves a breather.'' Pow! Opening credits roll. And that's just your typical first three minutes! ER is not only the quickest-pulsed series on TV, but with an average of 25 million viewers, it's the season's rookie of the year and No. 1-rated drama.
Sure, the adrenaline-pumped energy of the NBC smash barely allows viewers time to catch their breath, let alone change the channel. Sure, the competition has flatlined, with ABC's PrimeTime Live and CBS' Chicago Hope moving to different time periods, and Eye to Eye with Connie Chung possibly disappearing. Still, it takes a lot more than fast action and true-to-life- and-death dialogue to keep people coming back. What really brings the blood, sweat, and sutures to life are the six actors that work ER's corridors. ''They make it someplace you want to show up every week,'' says the show's executive producer John Wells. ''You want to spend time with these people.''
So who exactly is on this ersatz medical staff? They're TV veterans (George Clooney, Anthony Edwards). They're relative newcomers (Julianna Margulies, Noah Wyle). They're intense (Sherry Stringfield, Eriq La Salle). They're smart (''We have a level of intelligence here that might add up to a whole person, considering we're actors,'' quips Edwards). And much like the people you'd find in a real E.R., they're a diverse group brought together by fate, at a critical time in their lives. ''The truth is, we're a lot like these characters. There's a lot of us in them,'' says Edwards. Spend a whirlwind 24 hours with this team and you'd see what he means. Here, in brief, their case histories.
George Clooney
There's a soulful quality to George Clooney's eyes that hint at something deeper than the role he's adopted as self-effacing jokester of the cast. At 33, he's the old man of the ensemble, with eight series under his belt. This time out, he's the dedicated, hard-boozing pediatrician Dr. Douglas Ross, but Clooney wants everyone to know that (a) he's not as smart as the good doctor himself, (b) he's not short (''All the guys on the show are 6' 2'' and everyone thinks I'm a midget''), and (c) he sees himself as a combination of Larry Storch and Abe Vigoda. Don't believe that last one, it's just part of the Clooney charm.
ER PREPARATION: ''I fashioned the drunk stuff after my Uncle George. Al Pacino did a perfect impersonation of my Uncle George in Scent of a Woman, so now I have to do a mellower version because otherwise everyone will say, 'You're doin' Pacino.' ''
HOW HE COMPARES WITH HIS CHARACTER: ''We both live hard, but he's a sad figure and I've had a great life.''
SUBSPECIALTIES: Basketball, golf, tennis, hanging with friends.
PREVIOUS TRAINING: Started TV work at the age of 5 on his father's Nick Clooney Show in Cincinnati. Earlier roles include a stint on the 1984-85 series E/R. ''I played Ace, the hospital intern and village idiot. I had fun lines, big laughs, and it really changed my career.
OTHER CREDITS: A season on Roseanne and The Facts of Life, and most recently the role of Detective Falconer on Sisters.
WORST MEDICAL TRAUMA: ''I was wearing these bell-bottoms and platform shoes and tripped off a curb — broke my nose, cheekbones, knocked out my front tooth.''
HIS IDEA OF A GREAT TIME: Driving cross-country in a trailer with cousin Miguel Ferrer and four buddies, stopping to play golf along the way. ''I'm really white trash,'' he says, laughing.
WHAT'S IN HIS TRAILER: Instant apple-cinnamon oatmeal, Taco Bell hot sauce, his Sisters parking-space sign, and a copy of a book by his aunt, singer Rosemary Clooney.
IN OTHERS' WORDS: ''If I was stuck somewhere in Alaska at four in the morning without any money and I was in jail, I would call George.'' — Julianna Margulies
''He's a little bit Spencer Tracy — natural and guyish in the best way.'' — Sherry Stringfield
Sherry Stringfield
Call it a large dose of beginner's luck. First, Sherry Stringfield snags the role of Laura Kelly, the sharp lawyer/estranged wife of David Caruso on NYPD Blue, last year's most talked-about drama. Next,
she leaves that ultrapopular series only to find work as Dr. Susan Lewis on this year's most talked-about drama. Things work out that way for the sultry-voiced actress, 27, who can be munching on a bag of popcorn, swigging Diet Coke, and guffawing over a good joke with one huge curler in her hair — and still look stunning. Stringfield is more fun and more laughs than her cool, candid character. ''I don't get rattled about the big things. I get rattled when I have to pick up my laundry, get gas in the car, pick up a script-the little things
are like...AHHH!''
ER PREPARATION: She hung out in the medical sections of bookstores, reading what she could; spent full days in E.R.s. ''I'm a terrible patient, and I find that doctors can be very condescending. I wanted (my character) to be someone who walks in, says, 'You're having trouble, these are the problems, we're going to run these tests' — someone who tells you the truth.''
HOW SHE COMPARES WITH HER CHARACTER: ''We honor the truth. We're both earnest and direct. But she's really pragmatic. She sees situations and how to solve them. I just see AAHHH!!''
SUBSPECIALTIES: Reading (especially physics books: ''Physics has the cutest words''), yoga, skiing.
PREVIOUS TRAINING: Landed a role as nasty girl Blake on Guiding Light just after graduating from SUNY Purchase: ''It was a blast. I learned about cameras and TV. After three years I wanted to leave. They had me run away after my mom found out I was seeing her boyfriend. I left for Europe the next day.'' Of NYPD Blue: ''I had, like, a good year, but it wasn't for me.''
WORST MEDICAL TRAUMA: ''When I was little, doctors thought I had a mild form of epilepsy — it really traumatized me. I hated doctors. Mom said I would see anyone wearing white and just start screaming.''
HER IDEA OF A GREAT TIME: ''Being in the mountains, Paris, New York, or Rome, and feeling no sense of tomorrow or yesterday. Tooling around with my boyfriend (ski clothing entrepreneur Paul Goldstein), having a really long lunch with a bottle of wine.''
WHAT'S IN HER TRAILER: New York magazine, an aqua bathrobe, Gray's Anatomy, curlers, a leftover Mrs. Fields cookie, a videotape of My Favorite Year, English tea, assorted tapes (Muddy Waters, the soundtrack from The Commitments).
IN OTHERS' WORDS: ''She lives to be funny and fun. She's a real dame. There's nothing coquettish about her. She's Carole Lombard.'' — George Clooney
Julianna Margulies
One might describe it as a ''never say die'' personality. Julianna Margulies employs her city-girl sophistication (the Sarah Lawrence
grad grew up shuttling between New York, Paris, and London) and straight-on determination to get what she wants. In the case of ER, it was life itself. Though her tough-cookie character, head nurse Carole Hathaway, was supposed to be killed off in the pilot (she OD'd), Margulies, 27, was so likable that she won a permanent spot on
the show.
ER PREPARATION: ''I've melded together two nurses I met in E.R.s, Janis and Sue — I don't even know their last names. One seemed like someone who could juggle while standing very still, she was so calm. The other was very good but kind of over the job, and over doctors telling her stuff she already knew.''
HOW SHE COMPARES WITH HER CHARACTER: ''We both like control, have a hard time with decisions and a you-can't-mess-with-me attitude. I don't have that dark side. I wear my emotions on my sleeve.''
SUBSPECIALTIES: Knitting, reading.
PREVIOUS TRAINING: ''I got my first big role in Steven Seagal's Out for Justice. I was the only thing (a woman) can play in a Seagal movie: a hooker, an ex-hooker.''
OTHER CREDITS: Guest spots on Murder, She Wrote; Law & Order; Homicide.
WORST MEDICAL TRAUMA: ''When I was 8, I fell off a horse. At first, my parents weren't around and I was freaked out by this doctor who kept saying, 'You must give me urine.' I didn't know what the hell urine was. Finally, my dad and stepmother came and she said, 'Pee in the cup, honey.' ''
HER IDEA OF A GREAT TIME: Waking up in New York, rollerblading in Central Park, going to brunch, walking everywhere, seeing films, museums, and plays.
WHAT'S IN HER TRAILER: Homeopathic medicine, knitting, big pillows, a sweet note from ER exec producer John Wells.
IN OTHERS' WORDS: ''Nobody messes with Julianna — ever. If they do, they're dead.'' — George Clooney
Eriq La Salle
The joke on the ER set is that Eriq La Salle will not acquiesce. It's a good-natured jab at the actor, who, when asked to do a scene in which his hardheaded character, Dr. Peter Benton, apologizes, said over and over: ''Benton does not acquiesce.'' (Eventually a pseudo-compromise was achieved.) At first glance, the confident La Salle, 32, who attended Juilliard, doesn't seem like the giving-in type either. He'll tell you he's the moodiest guy in the ensemble. But a quiet discussion with the 6' 2'' actor reveals a softer, gentler person underneath those scrubs.
ER PREPARATION: ''Surgeons have borderline God complexes. I realized if I got that confidence part down, it would make (my character) solid and concrete.''
HOW HE COMPARES WITH HIS CHARACTER: ''We're both overachievers — hard on others and ourselves. We're cocky about certain things. I'm more balanced. I'm serious, but I have that twisted, George Clooney sense of humor. We're equally misunderstood at times.''
SUBSPECIALTIES: Lifting weights, cooking (best dish: seafood lasagna).
PREVIOUS TRAINING: Calls his role as a doctor on the short-lived 1992 series The Human Factor ''an appetizer to the one I'm playing now.'' On his role as an ambitious ad exec in the recent movie DROP Squad: ''I liked the opportunity to be in a film that represents a different consciousness. It's a thinking person's film.''
OTHER CREDITS: Coming to America.
WORST MEDICAL TRAUMA: ''(As a kid) I almost literally ate myself to death. I was in the hospital for a week.''
HIS IDEA OF A GREAT TIME: ''Waking up with a certain kind of energy and going to bed knowing I really felt major growth in some way.''
WHAT'S IN HIS TRAILER: Size 14 Nikes, a Malcolm X ''By Any Means Necessary'' poster, a blender for his protein drinks.
IN OTHERS' WORDS: ''Eriq is the big brother I never had. He comes off as this macho, good-looking man, but he's like honey.'' — Julianna Margulies
Anthony Edwards
In the pilot episode of ER, the hospital's head of surgery tells devoted, man-in-control, chief resident Dr. Mark Greene, ''You set the tone.'' That's the case with the actor who plays Greene as well: Edwards, 32, the only parent among the actors (son Bailey is 11 months old), serves as the cast's father figure. ''I try to set an example — not to lead, just to set an example,'' he says, sitting barefoot and munching raisins in his IKEA-decorated trailer. Right now, the veteran actor is enjoying the perk of staying put in Los Angeles: It's the first time in 12 years he has been home for more than a four-month stretch.
ER PREPARATION: ''I modeled (my character's) spirit after an old friend, Paul Castillo — he was my sister's boyfriend for years and kind of a big brother to me. He's an E.R. doctor once a week. There's something about his love for medicine that I've always admired.''
HOW HE COMPARES WITH HIS CHARACTER: ''I'm the same height. I'm not as smart as he is — George stole that line from me, he steals all my best stuff!''
SUBSPECIALTIES: Surfing, moviegoing, opera.
PREVIOUS TRAINING: Edwards left USC for acting work. ''My big break was Heart Like a Wheel at 19. It got enough attention, and people had something to look at. My whole thing has been persistence. More than anything, I just keep going. People say Top Gun was my big break, but I had done four or five movies and TV stuff before that.''
OTHER CREDITS: The Sure Thing, Mr. North, The Client; the man in the bubble house on CBS' Northern Exposure.
WORST MEDICAL TRAUMA: ''I was the youngest of five. By the fifth kid, we did most of the hospital stuff at home. I stuck my hand in the lawn mower once, and it cut my thumb down the middle of the nail, and my mom just washed it off and wrapped it up.''
HIS IDEA OF A GREAT TIME: Sleeping, reading, ordering in food, and hanging out with his family (wife Jeanine Lobell, 30, is a makeup artist).
WHAT'S IN HIS TRAILER: One green plant, The Random House Health and Medicine Dictionary, family photos, two Michael Crichton novels, a signed photo of Family Matters' Urkel.
IN OTHERS' WORDS: ''There's something genuine and sweet and down to earth in everything he does — his looks, his expressions, how he treats people, his acting.'' — Sherry Stringfield
''He's the kind of father everybody should have. Tony's definitely our fearless leader. He reeks nice guy, but scratch that surface and there's a sardonic, sarcastic side — just like all of us. '' — Noah Wyle
Noah Wyle
The boyish naivete that Wyle exudes on screen as medical student John Carter is completely erased as he stands off set confidently smoking a Marlboro. When it comes to the business of acting, Wyle, born one block from Hollywood Boulevard, is one serious entrepreneur: ''I got into college, but I deferred. It struck me as more difficult to break into acting at 22 than when you're young, so why not get my foot in the door?'' Beyond the cameras, Wyle, 23, is everybody's little brother and everybody's buddy.
ER PREPARATION: ''I talked to medical students and I also modeled the character a bit on my dad and my younger brother Aaron. When I get flustered, I'm doing my brother.''
HOW HE COMPARES WITH HIS CHARACTER: ''We're both perfectionists. When we make mistakes, we tend to get down on ourselves. Life is overwhelming to us at times. I think I handle pressure better.''
SUBSPECIALTIES: Beating Clooney and La Salle at pool, reading, watching the movie channels.
PREVIOUS TRAINING: ''Got my SAG card by saying, 'Hey, excuse me, what's going on down there?' in a TV miniseries.''
OTHER CREDITS: Crooked Hearts, A Few Good Men, Swing Kids.
WORST MEDICAL TRAUMA: ''I tried to give blood once and passed out. The last thing I remembered was the woman who put the needle in my arm looking me in the eye and saying, 'You're my first.' ''
HIS IDEA OF A GREAT TIME: ''Playing with my dog and cat, having lunch at the farmer's market, shooting pool, catching a movie, flying to New York to see my girlfriend.''
WHAT'S IN HIS TRAILER: Sylvester the cat slippers, photos of the cast and his girlfriend, Girl Scout cookies, videos, CDs (Brahms to Brubeck).
IN OTHERS' WORDS: ''Noah is the oldest youngest actor I've ever met. He's so unlike his nerdy character. Noah is so cool.'' — Eriq La Salle
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