This story originally appeared on Out.
Noah Wyle is having a career renaissance!
The 55-year-old actor, who became a Hollywood heartthrob in the ‘90s when he starred alongside George Clooney in ER, has just been named People's Sexiest Man Alive.
Wyle nabbed the title after shooting back into superstardom for his role on The Pitt. Last year, Jonathan Bailey made history as the first gay man to hold the title, joining the ranks of other past winners like John Krasinski, Patrick Dempsey, John Legend, Idris Elba, Dwayne Johnson, David Beckham, Richard Gere, and Channing Tatum.
“I thought that sounded like a prank — just not in a million years did I think that this would be an honor bestowed on me,” Wyle told People for the cover story announcing his win.
Being named Sexiest Man Alive comes after Wyle spent more than three decades starring in popular TV shows and movies, but for the uninitiated who didn’t spend the ‘90s lusting after the star, here is a breakdown of exactly who just won People’s coveted annual award.
Who is Noah Wyle?
Wyle started his acting career as a high school outcast who found his footing in the theater department. “I wasn’t a very good athlete, and I wasn’t a great student,” he told People. “So I just kept looking for my tribe, and I found them in the theater department.”
Wyle scored a role in A Few Good Men at the start of his career, but it was his role as Dr. John Carter in the hit medical drama ER that proved to be his breakout.
The role, which he played from 1994 to 2009, catapulted him into Hollywood heartthrob territory and even earned him and Clooney a two-episode guest spot on the first season of Friends.
How did he handle that level of fame? “Faking it really well,” he admitted. “Those were heady times. There was a complete 180 that happened almost overnight after my 22nd birthday.”
Wyle, who has been married twice and has three kids, went on to star in other popular TV shows and has won four Emmy Awards, two of which he scored last year for The Pitt, a show he not only stars in but directs and executive produces too.
What has Noah Wyle been in?
Noah Wyle in 'ER'
NBC
While Wyle was probably best known for his role on ER in the past, he has starred in other popular TV shows and movies since then.
He played the lead in The Librarian franchise, which spawned three movies and two TV shows, starred in movies like the cult classic Donnie Darko, as well as Enough and White Oleander, where he starred opposite Jennifer Lopez and Michelle Pfeiffer, respectively.
Wyle also starred as Tom Mason in the popular series Falling Skies and Harry Wilson in the Leverage sequel series Leverage: Redemption.
Wyle may have been working steadily throughout his long career, but he gained a renewed fanbase when he scored the lead role playing another doctor on HBO’s smash hit The Pitt, a show he helped create.
And now he’s back on fans’ radar for playing another doctor on HBO’s smash hit The Pitt.
Who does Noah Wyle play on ‘The Pitt’?
Noah Wyle in 'The Pitt'
HBO
Wyle stars as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch on the medical drama. He is the Chief of Emergency Medicine at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center and is well known by his colleagues for being sarcastic, blunt, and a skilled doctor.
The unique format of The Pitt, which is gearing up for its third season set to release in January, means that each season takes place over the course of a single day in a Pittsburgh emergency room run by Dr. Robby.
Wyle not only stars in the popular medical drama but helped create it with R. Scott Gemmil and John Wells, who also worked on ER together. He is also an executive producer and directed the emotional season 2 episode titled 12:00 P.M. Wyle plans to write and helm more episodes in season 3.
