How George Clooney and Julianna Margulies Still Pay Tribute to Their 'ER' Characters

Today marks the 30th anniversary of ER, the long-running medical drama that premiered on Sept. 19, 1994, and is generally credited with helping launch the careers of its early stars, George Clooney and Julianna Margulies. And it sounds very much as though the two stars still have a bond over their characters to this day.

For the anniversary, Margulies spoke with the Television Academy about one of the most shocking moments on the show, when producers brought back Clooney for a cameo at the end of season six, just as his meteoric movie career was taking off. Margulies, who likewise departed the series following season six, explained why it was so important that her character, nurse Carol Hathaway and Clooney's pediatrician Doug Ross end up together.

"It always had to be Carol and Doug, in the end," the 58-year-old said in the interview, adding the special bond that she and Clooney still share. "George and I, to this day, still sign our personal emails to each other ‘Love, Carol’ or ‘Doug.'"

Margulies also revealed that Clooney's cameo was kept so tightly under wraps that it didn't even make the initial table read, causing her to think their storyline would go unresolved.

"[Executive producer John Wells] said: ‘Look, we have the right ending for Carol. But we can't tell anyone. Because if it gets out, it won't be a surprise. So here's what we're going to do,'" she recalled, laughing. "I was like, ‘I wish he had warned me before I went into that table read!'"

Wells then explained that Clooney had agreed to return, but filming the scene involved flying out to Seattle, WA, where a car would pick her up and sneak her to the location. She was even told that in order to maintain secrecy for the shoot, she would have to smuggle her makeup and wardrobe out of her trailer and bring it along inside a backpack to the house the production had rented for the scene.

When the episode, "Such Sweet Sorrow" finally aired on May 11, 2000, the reunion was a surprise even to the rest of the cast. At the time, Margulies was in Prague filming her 2001 miniseries, The Mists of Avalon, but still fondly remembers the experience of first watching the episode.

"I remember I did a lot of phone interviews from my hotel room for the episode, so I finally saw it when I got back. And, it really worked," she remembered. "And I remember my mom saying to me—she was so shocked because everyone knew George was off the show—my mother said she screamed, which I think was a lot of people's reaction. It was the right ending for them because Carol and Doug were destined to be together."

Clooney and Margulies ended up reuniting once more before the series came to an end, in the 2009 episode "Old Times" from ER's 15th and final season. Yet, it would be difficult to top their 2000 reunion.