Noah Wyle: from ER to The Librarian

Noah Wyle charms audiences as John Carter on ER and on December 7, Wyle returns for his third turn as The Librarian.

The Indiana Jones-type adventure features Wyle as Flynn Carsen, a librarian of a different kind. Carsen crosses the globe in search of rare artifacts and pieces of history in order to preserve them for mankind.

Wyle is also in the midst of aiding the completing 15 season of the legendary TV stalwart, ER. After a decade and a half, the entire ER gang is finally hanging up their scrubs.

Wyle tells SheKnows all about his Librarian franchise as well as insight into the final phases of ER.

Wyle’s quest

SheKnows: First, what drew you to The Librarian in the first place, now three movies ago?

Noah Wyle: Initially because they would have me. When I got the first Librarian script I was knee deep in blood and gore on the set of ER and thinking that it wouldn’t be bad to spend my summer vacations on something a little bit lighter in tone and always having been a fan of action adventure comedy genre in previous franchises. I leapt at the opportunity. It was just a really wonderful character – really rich and complex and fun. Just the spirit with which the movies were going to be made was apparent to me from the outset meeting with Dean (Develin). I found in him a really wonderful partner and he’s empowered me over the years to really be a part of the creative process on all levels from pre-production to shaping the script to casting. It’s been a really, really rich experience for me in all senses.

SheKnows: The expectations in a series are merely one obstacle, what were others in filming The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice?

Noah Wyle: Well there’s certainly physical challenges that are inherent to playing this part. You never know quite what you’re going to be called on to do. The nice thing about being a producer in this is rather than having to acquire in your skills I get to just retrofit the story telling to the ones I already possess whether its horse back riding or fencing or pulling a (skiff) through a Louisiana swamp – all the things that I’ve felt pretty capable doing, but in terms of challenges they’re really more inherent to the structure of the way we make these movies, which is with a little less time than we need and a little less money than we require and still delivering high production values and interesting story telling. Actually that’s the ongoing inherent challenge.

SheKnows: Of the four Librarian films, is there one that is particularly close to your heart and why?

Noah Wyle: In a lot of ways this has been my favorite one that we’ve done. I think if – in things maybe our best offering and part of that’s just the byproduct of the fact that we didn’t have to expend so much energy this time to character expositioning – establishing who he is and what the world of what the librarian is. We got to sort of pick up midstream and get right into the mission as it were. (Plus) shooting in New Orleans was incredibly memorable. I’m embarrassed to admit that was my first time to the city and I didn’t really know quite what to expect. What I found was a really vibrant city with incredibly strong and funny people who were willing to work extremely long hours in difficult circumstances. They couldn’t have been more gracious or welcoming to our production and I can’t say enough about that city. I can’t wait to go back.

The smart stuff

SheKnows: In an era of celebratory superheroes, having one be so learned has to be a pleasure to portray.

Noah Wyle: Well I think that one of the aspects of the character that I find most gratifying is the celebration of knowledge and that superheroes come in all shapes and sizes including the bookish form. I hope the worm is turning on that stigma associated with elitism or education in general. And I think that we may be on the brink of a dawning of a new day in that regard where it’s not such a bad thing to be contemplative or to be intellectual or to be thoughtful about your decision making process. I think we’ve seen enough gut players and hopefully they can be relegated back to the sports field where they belong. Next…Noah on ER and its closing months