Julianna Margulies was HARDCORE crushing on George Clooney while filming ER! We mean, that’s not so hard to believe… have you seen him?!
What’s more interesting to learn is that he was actually crushing on her, too! But the actress is now over the moon happy they never actually acted on those feelings in real life!
While Julianna and George’s characters (Carol and Doug, respectively) may have had an epic love story on the NBC hit, she admitted to Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on a new episode of Armchair Expert that the success of their longstanding friendship has everything to do with shoving down those romantic feelings and leaving it all for the small screen.
Related: Julianna May Have Just Told The Scariest Casting Couch Story Ever
The 54-year-old (happily married to lawyer Keith Lieberthal) now recognizes that, had they given their romance a try, it would only ever have been a fling given how Clooney’s fame skyrocketed while on the hospital drama. While it may have been fun “until [she] became an adult,” Julianna added:
“I would have wanted him to show up.”
Reasonable! With his busy schedule, it would have been hard to maintain a normal relationship! But get this: they still talk about their crushes to this day; they didn’t just pretend like they never had a thing for each other! She continued:
“We always joke that thank God nothing ever happened because now we can remain friends for the rest of our lives.”
The performers also had some notable role models they definitely didn’t want to take after, as the star explained:
“As he used to say, ‘You don’t s**t where you eat.’ What he meant by that was the famous story about Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd. They had sex on the pilot. And then the show got picked up — and then they hated each other. Or David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson [on X-Files]. The same thing happened. And then they hate each other and you’re stuck on a show for seven years together. That’s agony. Life’s too short.”
Related: George’s Wife Amal HATES His Character On ER!
The Good Wife alum noted that their sexual chemistry made their on-screen storylines so watchable, too!
“You just want to have the crush keep going and going. And that’s what worked.”
So how does she feel about the Catch-22 alum now?
“He’s just a super awesome human being, and I love him.”
Awww!! Wow — can you imagine if they’d gotten together during ER’s prime?! Fans would have gone nuts. Smart of them to avoid any potential awkwardness though, especially since their series ran for a record-breaking 15 seasons!!
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below)!
[Image via ER/Hulu & Apega/Sheri Determan/WENN]
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