“He could tell I was a bit nervous because this is his sandbox,” Sara Wyle says of husband Noah before her “The Pitt” appearance. “I wanted to make sure I honored the show and brought my A-game.”
Sara Wyle’s audition process for her role on ‘The Pitt’
Sara Wyle reveals how her audition process looked for her patient role on her husband Noah Wyle’s show “The Pitt” and what advice he gave her.
Sara Wyle knows it’s hard to check out of “The Pitt.”
Wyle, 46, the actress and wife of “The Pitt” star and executive producer Noah Wyle, had already toured the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital set before landing a patient role in the April 2 Episode 13 of the HBO Max series (9 ET/6 PT).
The sprawling, hyperreal ER built for filming on Los Angeles’ Warner Bros. Studio Lot proved disorienting.
“It looks so authentic, but it was empty. I remember thinking, ‘How do I get out?'” Wyle tells USA TODAY. “Because the exit isn’t actually an exit – it leads to a waiting room or the reception or this corridor where everyone goes for a breather. It was like, ‘Do I live here now?'”
Fortunately, the set was fully staffed with fake medical staff and crew when Wyle filmed her role as TikTok-health educated Ashley Davis, one of the many patients seen during the 15-hour ER shift in “The Pitt” Season 2.
Speaking from her iPad in a London hotel as Noah launches the hit series in the United Kingdom, Wyle says she waited two seasons for the perfect role. Ashley, who is experiencing mysterious health issues despite her over-zealous self-care, was right in Wyle’s wheelhouse. She sent her audition tape just like everyone else.
“Absolutely,” she says. “I know everyone, but I still sent in a tape to show them I can actually do this. We went through every rung of the ladder before I got the part.”
The TikTok health trends Ashley discusses required some quick education.
“I was like, ‘What is sleepmaxxing?’ I had no idea,” Wyle says. “Some of these terms were beyond me – and I like to think I’m in the know. Like lettuce water. Wow, do people drink that? Gross.”
Noah Wyle gave advice to his nervous wife before ‘The Pitt’
Noah offered simple words before his wife left for work.
“He said, ‘Just go have fun,'” Wyle says. “He could tell I was a bit nervous because this is his sandbox. I wanted to make sure I honored the show and brought my A-game.”
Noah watched from a monitor in his makeup trailer as Ashley’s storyline unfolded separately from his character, senior attending physician Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, in the episode directed by Damian Marcano. They don’t share a scene together.
Noah and Sara Wyle have hit the award shows together, even on her birthday
Married since 2014, the couple have been fixtures on the awards circuit as “The Pitt” has emerged as a major force for gold statutes. Noah has picked up multiple honors, including two Emmys (best drama, best actor) and two SAG Actor Awards (best actor, best ensemble). He ended his January Golden Globe best actor acceptance speech to wish his beaming wife a happy birthday.
“I actually told him beforehand, ‘Please don’t say anything about my birthday,'” Wyle says. “I firmly believe in the birthday month – we can celebrate all month long. My face was bright red. But it was incredibly sweet.”
While Dr. Robby faces another emotional spiral in Season 2, Wyle says her husband is able to leave the character – and the pressures of producing two 15-episode seasons in a year – at work. He returns home fully present for their family, including son Owen, 23, and daughter Auden, 20 (with ex-wife Tracy Warbin), as well as Frances Harper, 10, his daughter with Wyle.
“It’s remarkable how he compartmentalizes everything and still shows up fully as a husband and father at home,” Wyle says. “He’s an executive producer, writer and actor, but he takes those hats off with such grace. I would not be able to be that cool.”
Wyle’s stint on “The Pitt” lasts just one episode. We won’t reveal patient Ashley’s outcome.
“It’s a one-stop appearance,” Wyle says.
Noah Wyle’s adorable birthday shout out to wife Sara Wyle
Sara Wyle told Noah Wyle not to say anything about her birthday in his Golden Globe acceptance speech. He did an adorable shout out anyways.
But the hit series continues to build momentum towards its April 16 finale. Two seasons of rapturous audience and critical accolades in just over one year have fueled a satisfying – and at times surreal – resurgence for former “ER” star Noah.
“Whether it’s the first time around or the second time, this has been really incredible,” Wyle says. “Every day we look at each other and just think, ‘This is amazing.’ Nothing is taken for granted. It’s truly been an extraordinary year.”