George Clooney'sERCostar Julianna Margulies Emailed Him Before His Broadway Debut: 'I'm So Proud of You' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

George Clooney; Julianna Margulies.Photo:Dave Benett/WireImage; Taylor Hill/WireImage

Dave Benett/WireImage; Taylor Hill/WireImage

Julianna Margulieshas nothing but support forGeorge Clooneyahead of hisBroadway debut.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, PEOPLE spoke exclusively to Margulies, 58, at the Broadway opening night ofLeft on Tenth, her new play costarringPeter Gallagher.

While at the event, held at the James Earl Jones Theater in New York, theGood Wifeactress discussed how she and her formerERcostar, 63, are both taking on Broadway. While Marguiles has starred on Broadway before, the upcoming stage production ofGood Night, and Good Luckwill mark Clooney’s first time on the Great White Way.

Julianna Margulies at the Broadway opening night of"Left on Tenth".Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty

Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty

“No, I’ve just given him a lot of kudos,” Margulies tells PEOPLE when asked if she gave any advice to Clooney, who will take the stage in spring 2025. “I just emailed him and said, ‘I’m so proud of you. You don’t have to do this.’ ”

According to Margulies, in many ways, theater can be more challenging than acting on television.

“It’s scary, you know, being on Broadway. And the world we live in now, everyone’s a judge, and you have to block all that out and do your work,” she tells PEOPLE. “And so, I’m really proud of him for picking a hard road. It’s not easy work, and I’m really impressed that he’s doing it.

Margulies and Clooney have remained close friends since costarring on the medical drama, which debuted in 1994 and ran for 15 seasons before ending in 2009.

George Clooney and Julianna Margulies, ER.Paul Drinkwater/NBC/Getty

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In the series, she portrayed head nurse Carol Hathaway, while he played her love interest, Dr. Doug Ross.

“It always had to be Carol and Doug, in the end,” she said. “George and I, to this day, stillsign our personal emailsto each other ‘Love, Carol' or ‘Doug.’ "

George Clooney, September 2024.Daniele Venturelli/WireImage

Daniele Venturelli/WireImage

Meanwhile, Clooney will make his Broadway debut inGood Night, and Good Luck— a play based on the 2005 film he co-wrote, directed and starred in.

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“A work of historical drama,Good Night, and Good Luckcenters on a clash between famed journalist Murrow and infamous U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, of anti-communist HUAC fame. The title comes from Murrow’s broadcast sign-off. Clooney starred on screen as Murrow’s co-producer, Fred W. Friendly,” anofficial synopsisreads.

“I am honored, after all these years, to be coming back to the stage and especially to Broadway, the art form and the venue that every actor aspires to,” Clooney said after the play was announced in May.

source: people.com