Julianna Margulies reveals George Clooney saved her ‘ER’ character from dying

Julianna Margulies reminisced about her ER audition days, revealing a surprising detail about her character, Carol Hathaway. 

Hathaway was supposed to die in the pilot episode, however, that all changed because of George Clooney.

During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Margulies, 58, shared that she had initially gone to the ER set to audition for a different role.

In a twist of fate she was eventually asked to read for the head nurse position with a warning that "She dies in the pilot."

The Good Wife alum auditioned for it and got the role prompting Clarkson to ask, "She was gonna die? You were supposed to die?"

The actress confirmed the unexpected twist, saying, "The character dies in the pilot from a drug overdose."

She explained the death scene was filmed, "But the way the director [Rob Holcomb] shot it," Margulies explained, "he did it through George Clooney's eyes because they had been an old flame."

Looking back three decades later, ER is unimaginable without Margulie’s iconic portrayal of Hathaway, especially since she was the primary love interest of Clooney's Dr. Doug Ross.

"They did it through his eyes, so suddenly her death seemed really important to the audience watching for him that she does not die," the Hot Zone actress continued. "So I guess they do test audiences, and when the character died the whole audience went, "Nooo!' Because they loved George Clooney so much, who doesn't."

Margulies left ER in 2000 after six seasons, while Clooney, 63, remained on the show for five, returning as a surprise guest during the season six finale.