How an ER Episode Led to George Clooney Being Cast as Batman

Before George Clooney donned the cape and cowl in Batman & Robin, he was saving lives in scrubs on the hit medical drama ER. But according to longtime ER director Christopher Chulack, it wasn’t just Clooney’s charm or Hollywood looks that landed him the Dark Knight gig, it was one powerful episode that turned heads at Warner Bros.

In a recent interview with TV Insider, Chulack revealed that Clooney’s performance in the 1995 ER episode “Hell and High Water” directly led to his casting as Batman.

The episode, which aired in November 1995, centered on Clooney’s character, Dr. Doug Ross, as he heroically rescued a young boy trapped in a flooded storm drain, an episode that left audiences and studio executives alike captivated.

Chulack recalled, “So I knew that the show was already a hit. That episode got 45 million viewers.” He went on to explain that the response was so massive it literally changed Clooney’s career overnight.

“The next day, Bob Daley and Terry Semel, who were the presidents of Warner Bros. Television, came down and knocked on George’s dressing room door and told him, ‘You’re going to be the next Batman because of the heroism of that episode.’”

The director added, “So I figured it’s just going to go up from here, and it did.”

That episode became one of ER’s most acclaimed hours, earning six Emmy nominations and a Directors Guild of America Award for Chulack. The buzz surrounding Clooney’s performance proved he had leading-man potential, and not long after, he traded the hospital for Gotham City.

In Batman & Robin (1997), Clooney suited up as Bruce Wayne alongside Uma Thurman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alicia Silverstone, and Chris O’Donnell. The film didn’t exactly soar with critics, and it was a wasted opportunity, but it marked a defining moment in Clooney’s rise from television star to Hollywood icon.