Big pay rise for ER star

ER star Noah Wyle, who plays doctor John Carter in the hit television series, has just landed a fat contract.

The actor signed a lucrative two-year deal to stay in the American hospital drama (TV2, 8.30 tonight), which has lost several of its biggest names over its eight seasons, Daily Variety newspaper reported.

His salary was not disclosed but will be in the same area as the $900,000 that Anthony Edwards, who plays Dr Mark Greene, picks up for each episode.

The show, which costs $20.65 million an episode, lost two of its biggest stars in recent times. George Clooney, who played heartthrob Dr Doug Ross, and Julianna Margulies, who played his girlfriend nurse Carol Hathaway, departed within a year between 1999 and 2000.

Wyle told Daily Variety: "I always had a romantic notion that my character would run the ER. It was hard when Sherry Stringfield left and especially when George did the same.

"What helped is that I've been able to book some good movie jobs. Maybe you lose momentum when you do a series, but the best male roles seem to be for guys who are 35.

"When I finish my 10th season, I will be 33."

Wyle is one of only two of the cast remaining from the first episode about the Chicago hospital's casualty department.

Eriq La Salle, who plays Dr Peter Benton, is the only other, but his future is less certain.

He is due to appear in the next season of the show, which will be shown in America in the northern autumn, but has not signed a contract to remain after that and is pursuing a career in directing.

ER's executive producer John Wells told the newspaper: "Keeping Noah with us through the 10th season was a big priority for us. When Noah's character started, he was a wide-eyed student getting an education. It seems only natural that when Anthony Edwards' Dr Greene character leaves, Carter would take over running the ER.

"Noah has been a main part of the show's fabric, and we couldn't be happier that that will continue."

Edwards secured his salary, beaten only by the stars of Friends and a handful of other television actors, when George Clooney left the drama, but he will also leave in 2002 to pursue other interests.

British actress Alex Kingston, who plays Dr Elizabeth Corday, Dr Greene's fiancee, was not affected by the contract talks.

The highest-paid stars in television are reportedly the cast of Friends. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Le Blanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer last year negotiated a huge pay rise to earn a reported $1.62 million for each episode.

- NZPA