The Pitt Star Noah Wyle Addresses Rumor He Almost Played Ross Geller On Friends

Noah Wyle has heard the rumors that he was nearly in the hit NBC sitcom "Friends," and he's putting them to rest. In an interview with People, Wyle shut down the idea that he once auditioned to play Ross Geller.

"Could anybody else have played Ross but David Schwimmer? I don't think so," Wyle said. He added his theory for why the rumor came about: "I'm spitballing here, [but there was] some oral history taken where my name was mentioned on a casting list as somebody they were thinking about bringing in, but it never came to pass." The hit '90s sitcom has a long list of now-famous actors who very nearly got a major role — Jon Cryer, for instance, auditioned to play Matthew Perry's Chandler — but it turns out Wyle was never one of them.

This isn't the first time Wyle has debunked the rumor. In an April 2026 interview with Variety, Wyle said, "My memory is a little spotty, but I would remember auditioning for 'Friends.'" Part of the confusion may come from the time Wyle competed with "Friends" star Matt LeBlanc for another role. "I screen tested against Matt LeBlanc for a movie once," Wyle told People, although he didn't say which movie it was.

Another potential reason for the false rumor spreading so widely is that Noah Wyle's breakout role in "ER" began at the same time as "Friends." Both shows premiered on NBC in 1994; although "ER" lasted longer, Wyle himself left the series after 11 seasons, only a year after "Friends" wrapped up its 10-season run. Wyle and the "Friends" cast dominated the TV landscape throughout nearly the exact same time period.

Not only did each show top the ratings throughout the '90s, but Wyle and "ER" co-star George Clooney actually appeared in a Season 1 episode of "Friends." In "The One with Two Parts: Part 2," they played two handsome doctors for Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Monica (Courteney Cox) to fawn over. Wyle and Clooney are not meant to be the same characters they play in "ER," but their professions and general demeanor are a clear wink to any "ER" fans in the audience.

"I remember thinking it was almost like a gas that we were doing [the scene]," Wyle told EW. "It was just doing a walk-on. I didn't think it had any pressure or attendant pageantry. That's how naive I was. I'm sure at all the levels above us, they were just thrilled at this like, 'We're taking the guys from the 'ER'! We're putting them on 'Friends'!'"