George Clooney reflects on 'ER': 'It was life-changing'

Feb. 12 (UPI) -- George Clooney says starring on ER was a "life-changing" experience.

The 57-year-old actor recalled his time on the NBC series during the Television Critics Association winter press tour Monday.

"ER was a nutty moment in my career, but also in the lives of a bunch of actors," Clooney told reporters, according to Fox News.

"There was six of us who were thrown into the stratosphere," he said of himself and co-stars Anthony Edwards, Sherry Stringfield, Noah Wyle, Eriq La Salle and Julianna Margulies. "It was life-changing for all of us."

Clooney starred as Dr. Doug Ross in the first five seasons of ER, which had a 15-season run from 1994 to 2009. He will return to television in his first series regular role since in the Hulu miniseries adaptation of Catch-22.

"I don't care about the medium, I really don't. I just care about the quality of work," the star said of his TV return, according to E! News.

Clooney will play Scheisskopf in the adaptation of the Joseph Heller novel. He will also serve as an executive producer and direct two of the show's six episodes.

"You have to take a swing and hope you hit the ball," the actor said of the story's mix of comedy and drama, according to Entertainment Tonight. "You've gotta go for it."

"You can't sort of subtly yell at people, and you can't subtly kill these people," he added. "It's a pretty gruesome business. There's a morbid comedy to it as well ... The difference between horror and hilarity becomes even more pronounced."

Catch-22 released a first trailer featuring Clooney on Monday. The miniseries co-stars Christopher Abbott, Kyle Chandler and Hugh Laurie, and premieres May 17.