Julianna Margulies Believes Getting Older Is a Privilege

How do you look back on those days on ER?

I remember them with such fondness. It was a real family. And the fact that we’re all still friends and supporting one another — it is a testament to what George always said, “It’s the stars aligning in the right way. This comes around once in a lifetime. This is not normal.” So I had an early appreciation for the sort of halo that was around us when we did that show. The first few years of that show, it was such a juggernaut, and continued to be so, but we were all working so much, we didn’t — at least I didn’t — comprehend it, which I think was a good thing. I knew that people loved it, but I didn’t realize how big it was until after The Good Wife. My husband and I just took a trip to Ireland, and in these tiny little villages, everywhere I went, [people asked me about] ER.

Because it’s streaming, people are still finding you.

Well, what’s remarkable about the streaming platform is that during the pandemic, 12- to 16-year-olds started watching ER. And so all these years later, when I sort of thought it faded into the horizon, I walk down the street and these young kids are like, “Are you Nurse Hathaway?” And I’m like, Oh my God, this is amazing.

Margulies played nurse Carol Hathaway for six seasons on the popular NBC drama "ER." George Clooney, right, played Dr. Doug Ross on the show.

NBCUniversal via Getty Images

How do you look at yourself 30 years later? What’s better?

Well, everything’s better except my eyesight. I’m so much calmer. The little things don’t get to me anymore. I am fully aware of how lucky I am and fully appreciative of my life. Here’s the best advice, and as kooky as my wonderful 89-year-old mother is, she always says to me, every time I see her, which is often: “Don’t waste a second thinking you’re old. If only I knew how young I was at 80, when I could drive and live in my own house.” And you just start to realize, it’s such a waste of time. … There’s a gift to getting older. People should just look at it as a gift rather than a distraction. It’s a privilege.

How are you feeling physically?

Physically, I think I’m in better shape than I was at 30 because I take it so much more seriously. I’m more gentle to my body. My stretching is longer than it used to be. I still hammer it out on the Peloton [machine] and all the other things I do, but I’m much kinder to myself. I’m much more aware of how important it is to surround yourself with people who fulfill you rather than people who deplete you. All those ridiculous relationship troubles you have in your 30s because you think you’re supposed to somehow suffer in a relationship until you realize, Oh no, actually I don’t.

Any new projects on the horizon?

We have a few irons in the fire with other really interesting female-led, character-driven television shows that I’m circling. Because now, especially with the streaming platforms, you can do 10 really great episodes and still have a life. And I can do it in New York. We were just trying to hash out this deal that I’m doing with a company, and they said, “Would you be open to Europe? Would you be open to Canada?” And I said, “In two years, I’ll be open to all of them. Not until my son graduates from school. I just can’t.” I get two [more] years, and then he’s on his own trip. I just want to enjoy it while I can, because I know it’s fleeting.

Carrie Preston reprised her Good Wife character, Elsbeth, in a new series. Would you want to bring Alicia Florrick back?

I wouldn’t want to bring Alicia back, although I’d be so curious to see where she is in her life right now. I often think, What would Alicia do? But I also am of the feeling: Let good things go when they’re ready to go, and create new good things.