John Wells still remembers casting Noah Wyle in ER over 30 years ago.

The television producer, 69, joined the A Lot More podcast with host Jonathon Buckley on April 15 to talk about what it was like meeting the Emmy winner for the first time.

He described the audition process for ER as “very traditional,” and noted that “Noah came in kind of later.”

In fact, there was another actor who seemed to have already secured the role when Wyle came to read for it.

“There was a wonderful actor, who goes unnamed, and has gone on to do very well, but we thought had the part,” the producer said.

However, when the then-22-year-old Wyle showed up, things changed.

“He came in very late, and [we] just brought him back two or three times, and he was different every time and better every time, and had new ideas,” Wells recalled. “And I said, ‘Oh, there’s somebody who’s really an actor.’ He ended up getting the job at the last minute. He was 22, I think at the time, and he’s waiting tables in West Hollywood.”

Wells served as the head writer, show runner and executive producer of ER. In the NBC series, which aired from 1994 to 2009, Wyle played Dr. John Carter from seasons 1 to 11, and then guest-starred in season 12.

Wells and Wyle reunited years later for The Pitt, created and executive-produced by ER alums R. Scott Gemmill and Wells.

“That relationship has now gone on for my entire professional career, basically, and his, I mean, it’s a little scary because I used to look at and monitor and see a 22-year-old looking back at me. I look in the monitor now and I see a very handsome 54-year-old man,” Wells shared.

Wells explained to Buckley that he enjoys working with people whom he’s worked with in the past.

“Every show, you’re going to have a number of people when you put it together, who you haven’t worked with before. So having a number of people that you have worked with before means that you have more time to explore a new relationship with others,” he said. “We’re always trying to make X number of people that we worked with before, who we know, and mix that in with people that we haven’t worked [with] before.”

Working with Wyle again on The Pitt helped ensure that he knew how the set would run.

“Knowing that Noah Wyle was going to be number one on the call sheet, I know that not only is a wonderful actor and a fantastic human being, he’s also a great leader,” the producer said. “He sets a tone on the set for everybody else and demands a certain level of professionalism.”

“In directing and producing the show with Scott [Gemmill], you know already that you’ve got that part covered. You’re not dealing with a number one on the call sheet that you’re going to have to figure out how you work together.”

The Pitt just wrapped its second season on HBO Max