Julianna Margulies Says 'Thank God' She Never Hooked Up With George Clooney

Julianna Margulies has portrayed George Clooney's lover on screen but she is glad they never hooked up with him in real life.

Speaking on the "Armchair Expert" podcast with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on Monday, the 54-year-old actress reflected on working with Clooney on the drama series, "ER," which ran from 1994 to 2009.

"We always joke that thank God nothing ever happened because now we can remain friends for the rest of our lives," the Golden Globe award-winning actress said.

"As he used to say, 'You don't s--t where you eat.' What he meant by that was the famous story about Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd," she noted. "They had sex on the pilot. And then the show got picked up — and then they hated each other. Or David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson [on X-Files]. The same thing happened. And then they hate each other and you're stuck on a show for seven years together. That's agony. Life's too short."

In fact, not having a real-life romantic connection helped the characters' to look more believable on-screen, the actress said.

"You just want to have the crush keep going and going. And that's what worked," she said. "And also, he’s just a super awesome human being, and I love him."

Margulies also spoke about her parents' split while she was young and how she grew up in Paris. She also praised her lawyer husband Keith Lieberthal, who took care of her after she went through many difficult relationships. The couple has a 13-year-old son.

The actress was last seen in "Three Christs," "The Upside," "The Last Gold," "Stand Up Guys" and "No Job for a Woman." She is a regular on "The Morning Show" as Laura Peterson. She also played a recurring role on "Billions" as Catherine Brant.

Clooney was last seen in the 2020 science fiction movie "The Midnight Sky," which was based on "Good Morning, Midnight" novel by Lily Brooks-Dalton. The actor also did a cameo as Ron in the horror-thriller "Grizzly II: Revenge."