Noah Wyle on the Diet Coke Bit Tarantino Invented on ER, and Why The Pitt Has No Music
A few minutes in, Brent Spiner stops the interview cold to tell Noah Wyle, as a friend rather than a host, that The Pitt is the best thing on television and that Noah is the reason. The room changes right there, and what follows is two hours of shop talk between people who actually know each other…
Two moments from this episode
Tarantino's Diet Coke Direction
Noah Wyle recalls Quentin Tarantino directing an early episode of ER and inventing an unscripted bit of business on the spot. He mapped out a whole sequence involving a Diet Coke, a paper towel and a slip on the wet floor, describing it with what Wyle called the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old child.
“you don't want a classic Coke, you want a Diet Coke, so you grab that Diet Coke, but it's slippery, man”
Cesar Romero Remembers Everything
Brent Spiner was four years old at Houston's Hobby Airport when his mother sent him over with a pencil and paper to ask Cesar Romero for an autograph. Years later at a party in Los Angeles, Spiner reintroduced himself and explained the airport encounter, and Romero answered without missing a beat.
“And he said, oh, yeah, how's your mother?”
Names dropped in this episode
85 names come up in this episode, in the order they are mentioned. Tap a timestamp to jump straight to that moment.
Scott Foley
4:31American actor, director and producer, who is known for roles on shows such as The Unit, Scrubs… Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Dominick D · CC BY-SA 2.0
Patrick Stewart
10:01Captain Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0
Patrick Ball
15:05American statistician known for his quantitative analysis of human rights violations Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Isa Briones
15:17American actor and singer, born in London and raised in Los Angeles Wikipedia ↗
Photo: PhilipRomano · CC BY-SA 4.0
Linda Emond
15:55American stage, film, and television actress Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Photo taken by Thomas Lascher · CC BY-SA 3.0
David Crosby
16:53American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Eddi Laumanns aka RX-Guru · CC BY 3.0
Anthony Edwards
18:16Anthony Jermal Edwards , nicknamed "Ant-Man" or simply "Ant", is an American professional basketball… Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Bryan Berlin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dean Devlin
18:21American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor of film and television Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0
Frank Sinatra
20:15American singer, conductor, and actor Wikipedia ↗
Alfred Hitchcock
20:51English filmmaker Wikipedia ↗
Tab Hunter
21:26American actor, singer, film producer, and author Wikipedia ↗
Lainie Kazan
21:26American actress, singer and classical composer Wikipedia ↗
Photo: John B. Mueller · CC BY 2.5
Divine
21:26Vivian Wilson Fernandes , known professionally as Divine , is an Indian rapper and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Bollywood Hungama · CC BY 3.0
Cesar Romero
21:30César Julio Romero Jr. was an American actor Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Allan warren · CC BY-SA 3.0
Peter O'Toole
23:09English and Irish actor Wikipedia ↗
Thomas Carter
23:39Anglo-Irish politician who served as the Master of the Rolls and Secretary of State in Ireland Wikipedia ↗
Jason Alexander
24:07American actor and comedian Wikipedia ↗
Photo: flipchip / LasVegasVegas.com · CC BY-SA 3.0
James Broderick
24:40American actor Wikipedia ↗
Roy Scheider
25:55American actor who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the… Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Roy_scheider_in_Krakow.jpg: Lukasz Figura… · CC BY-SA 2.0
Blythe Danner
25:55American actress Wikipedia ↗
Sheryl Lee
26:16American actress of stage, film and television Wikipedia ↗
Photo: GabboT · CC BY-SA 2.0
Eli Wallach
27:14American film, television, and stage actor from New York City Wikipedia ↗
Red Buttons
27:14American actor and comedian Wikipedia ↗
Alan Alda
27:17Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , known professionally as Alan Alda , is an American actor and filmmaker Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Moody College of Communication · CC BY-SA 2.0
Mickey Rooney
27:17American actor Wikipedia ↗
Richard Benjamin
27:21American actor and director Wikipedia ↗
Kevin Pollak
27:37American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcaster Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Amy Puzia · CC BY 3.0
Rob Reiner
27:37American filmmaker, actor, and political activist Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Montclair Film · CC BY 2.0
Stephen Frears
28:50British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real-life stories as well as… Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Andriy Makukha (Amakuha) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Brian Dennehy
28:56American actor Wikipedia ↗
Richard Dreyfuss
28:58American actor Wikipedia ↗
Photo: John Manard for Super Festivals/Galaxy Con · CC BY 2.0
Larry Hagman
29:13Star of Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie Wikipedia ↗
Henry Fonda
29:15Screen legend, co-star of Yours, Mine and Ours Wikipedia ↗
Scott Gemmill
29:54Canadian television writer and producer Wikipedia ↗
King Vidor
30:59American film director, film producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
Quentin Tarantino
35:25American filmmaker, actor, and author Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0
Laura Bush
42:09American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George… Wikipedia ↗
Steven Spielberg
44:10Director of Jaws, Close Encounters and 1941 Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Martin Kraft · CC BY-SA 4.0
Carl Franklin
44:10American film and television director, producer, screenwriter, and former actor Wikipedia ↗
Miguel Sapochnik
44:55English film and television director of Argentine origin, and former storyboard artist Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0
Michael Crichton
54:45American author and filmmaker Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Jon Chase photo/Harvard News Office · CC BY-SA 3.0
John Wells
55:10American producer, writer, and director Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Angela George · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dick Van Dyke
55:46American actor, comedian, singer, dancer and writer Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 2.0
Michael Chiklis
56:25American actor, television producer, and director Wikipedia ↗
Photo: ChiksWiki · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nancy Grahn
56:42American actress known primarily for her work in daytime soap operas, portraying Beverly Wilkes on One… Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Mingle MediaTV · CC BY-SA 2.0
Carl Reiner
57:05American actor, author, comedian, director, and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades Wikipedia ↗
Kathleen Quinlan
57:56American film and television actress Wikipedia ↗
Jack Lemmon
58:14American actor Wikipedia ↗
Christopher Reeve
59:59American actor, activist, director, and author Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Jbfrankel · CC BY-SA 3.0
John Logan
60:08American soldier and politician Wikipedia ↗
Bette Midler
60:11American actress, comedian, singer, and author Wikipedia ↗
Dyan Cannon
60:17American actress, filmmaker, and editor Wikipedia ↗
James Coburn
60:29American actor who featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television… Wikipedia ↗
Stephen Sondheim
60:32American composer and lyricist Wikipedia ↗
Orson Welles
62:52American actor and filmmaker Wikipedia ↗
Michael J. Pollard
64:04American character actor Wikipedia ↗
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons.
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