The Pitt's Noah Wyle joked that passengers may have thought he was a real doctor and expected him to help during a mid-flight medical emergency.
The incident occurred when the 54-year-old actor recently flew to London to promote the HBO Max medical procedural drama, in which he plays protagonist Dr Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, the senior emergency attending physician at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Centre.
Noah said on Chris Moyles' Radio X show on Wednesday (25.03.26): "On the flight over here, they made a PA announcement that there was a medical emergency in the back of the plane, and if there was any doctors to please contact the flight attendant.
"And half the passengers had already told me that they were watching The Pitt on the flight, because they passed me on the way in! So, I know there were at least 20 people that were like, ‘I know there's a doctor on this plane!'”
Chris, 52, asked if, during the announcement, Noah "sank into the chair", to which the Primetime Emmy award winner quipped: "I got so low. I got so low in my chair! I was inside the barf bag."
Noah shot to fame as Dr John Carter in the NBC medical drama ER, and he went on to join and executive-produce The Pitt after receiving "a lot of mail" from first responders.
The star explained: "This one I joined from the very beginning.
"This one started during the pandemic when I was getting a lot of mail from first responders who were telling me they were having a hard time, and that I had been sort of instrumental in getting them into this mess by doing a show called ER.
"And I really felt awful that I had nothing relevant to offer them at that moment. So, I called our executive producer of ER and said, 'I know you don't want to do that show again, but there might be another story to tell.'
"And that began this conversation about how to take another look at American healthcare post COVID, and focusing on the practitioners who have really done an unceasing tour of duty without being able to examine what they've been through during that period of time."
Noah's connection to the healthcare industry is rooted in his personal life, as his mom, Marjorie Speer, was a nurse.
Chris wondered how much medical jargon Noah recognises in scripts for The Pitt, to which the actor replied: "Well, there's only about 12 things you can actually do in an emergency department, after which you get sent to another department.
"So, those 12 things come up quite a bit, and I've learned pretty much how to do each of those. The pronunciations are second nature by now."
And Noah thinks he "could have actually gotten a degree" because of how much medical knowledge he has."
He added: "I've been doing this for decades. So, for me to say I know nothing would be really a horrible admission! But the truth is, I know it when I need to know it."
Tune into The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X weekdays from 6.30am to 10am and on Global Player.
