Julianna Margulies on ‘Flunked’ ER Audition and Character’s Fate

This is truly a miracle Julianna Margulies‘ he got the role that launched his career emergency room – let alone keeping it up for six years.

Margulies, 58, played fan-favorite nurse Carol Hathaway on the medical drama and in the Nov. 8 episode. The Kelly Clarkson Showrevealed how improbable the sequence of events was that led to her joining the show.

He recalled that he attended three auditions the day he auditioned. emergency roomand Margulies has a tendency to arrive early, thanks to her “hippie, crazy, wonderful mother who’s always late.”

“That’s why I must emergency room — Then I went to two more auditions — there were probably 50 people in the waiting room and they were running behind me for two hours, and I was just pissed,” he said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to be late for my other auditions,’ which isn’t right. Forget about it.'”

After about two hours, Margulies said she “walked out” when the casting director called her name and reluctantly went to read for a recurring character.

“But I got so angry that I did it really rudely; a little bit of New York anger. And I knew I was failing,” he said. “I walked out of the audition and the casting director said to me, ‘Wait a minute. You’re not right for this role.’ And I said, ‘Don’t you think?’ And he said, ‘But you might be right about that matron, Carol Hathaway, but she dies in the pilot. But can you come and read for it?’ “So I went back and read Hathaway with a big attitude and got the part.”

Margulies recalled that in the original pilot script, Carol died of a drug overdose, and that it was an emotional moment because it was seen “through George Clooney’s eyes” because Carol was the “former flame” of her character, Doug Ross.

“Suddenly his death seemed really important to the audience watching,” he said.

However, after showing the episode to a test audience, Carol’s death was reconsidered. “When the character dies, the entire audience goes ‘No!’ “Because they love George Clooney so much, who doesn’t?” he said.

There was one final coincidence in the pilot episode that truly established Margulies’ six-season run. Emergency room, Another “confluence of events,” as he told Clarkson.

Dr. Sherry Stringfield, who plays Susan Lewis, was in the operating room when Margulies’ character was wheeled in on a stretcher, but “she put the clipboard to her mouth saying, ‘He’s brain dead.'” So you don’t see it.”

“So they repeated different phrases, saying, ‘He’ll be okay,’ etc. And they brought me back to life,” Margulies said.

Never miss a story — sign up PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter To stay up to date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling juicy stories.

The bond between Margulies and Clooney, 63, is still strong today. In front of the actor Making its Broadway debut soon Good Night and Good LuckMargulies told PEOPLE she “had a lot of praise for him” in the role.

“I emailed him and said, ‘I’m proud of you.’ ‘You don’t have to do this’” he said. “Being on Broadway is very scary… And so I’m really proud of him for choosing a difficult path. “It’s not an easy task and I’m really impressed that you did it.”