After 30 years, Carol Hathaway and Doug Ross are still endgame.
Marking the milestone anniversary of ER‘s 1994 premiere on NBC, Julianna Margulies looked back on her and George Clooney‘s departure from the show and how the pair still keeps their characters’ bond alive off screen.
“It always had to be Carol and Doug, in the end,” the actress told the Television Academy. “George and I, to this day, still sign our personal emails to each other ‘Love, Carol’ or ‘Doug.'”
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Margulies also recalled her character Carol’s sendoff in the 2000 episode ‘Such Sweet Sorrow’, which reunited her with Clooney’s Doug after his exit a season before. She revealed how they kept the reunion a secret from everyone, including their co-stars.
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She recalled getting “very emotional” during her final table read after reading what she thought was her character’s ending, explaining that she “just cried” in the bathroom because she thought, “I can’t believe they’re not giving her a proper sendoff.” Co-star Noah Wyle even consoled her.
Showrunner John Wells then went to her trailer and told her, “‘Look, we have the right ending for Carol. But we can’t tell anyone. Because if it gets out, it won’t be a surprise. So here’s what we’re going to do.’ I was like, ‘I wish he had warned me before I went into that table read!'”
He soon told her that Clooney had agreed to return, giving her the script for their big reunion scene. Shrouded in secrecy, Margulies said Wells told her to sneak her makeup and wardrobe out of her trailer in her backpack.
“And John said, ‘We’re going to fly the two of you out [to Seattle] separately. A car will pick you up,'” recounted Margulies, noting that only a skeleton crew was present for the shoot. “I think it was only our DP, our cameraman, John Wells, me and George.”
Margulies added, “The owners [of the house] had to sign a nondisclosure [agreement], and I got in their bathroom to do my own makeup and hair. I had taken only the clothes for the character that were left in my trailer, and we shot the scene.”
“It really worked,” she said of the scene. “Honestly, every now and then I’ll catch it when I’m flipping channels or something. And I still — that music — I still get very emotional. And I remember my mom saying to me — she was so shocked because everyone knew George was off the show — my mother said she screamed, which I think was a lot of people’s reaction. It was the right ending for them because Carol and Doug were destined to be together.”
The pair returned once more for the 2009 episode ‘Old Times’ during the show’s final season. “ER is responsible for our careers. I will always be indebted to ER,” said Margulies.
Thursday marks the 30th anniversary of the medical drama, which was created by Michael Crichton, running for 15 seasons on NBC until 2009.