How this Valley doctor sneaked onto primetime TV
>>> Festiva's "Hometown Hollywood" tracks down the big names that have emerged from the Rio Grande Valley, as well as the rising stars who are bound to make us proud in the future.
Even though his role as a doctor on ER didn't actually require him to save lives, Dr. Noel Oliveira couldn't quell his instincts.
While filming a scene on the set of the medical drama, which will end Thursday after nearly 15 years on the air, the McAllen physician noticed something alarming on the heart monitor a fellow extra was hooked up to. After a quick examination, Oliveira diagnosed the man with a heart arrhythmia.
"He was too young to have it, so I sent him to his doctor," Oliveira said. "I remember one of the stars, Noah Wyle, said ‘Oh, you're a real doctor. You're a spy to see how we're doing.'"
Spy? Not so much.
Oliveira and his wife were invited to the ER set by a fellow doctor, writer and producer Joe Sachs, whom he'd met at a medical conference. Their visit started off as a fun chance to experience a real-life Hollywood set and hang out with Anthony Edwards (Dr. Mark Greene) and Julianna Margulies (Nurse Carol Hathaway). Once they got there, Oliveira decided to make the most of the opportunity.
Despite their V.I.P. invitation, the doctor and his wife were not guaranteed screen time. Like the hundreds of actors and actresses vying for the handful of spots in the background, Oliveira knew this was probably his only chance to make it on primetime TV.
As the cast and crew rehearsed to shoot the scene, Oliveira realized he wouldn't be seen on camera in his current position. He took matters into his own hands and switched places with another actor. While the assistant director in charge of arranging the extras on the set didn't catch him, the doctor's ploy didn't go completely unnoticed.
"Another extra comes up to me and says, ‘Man, these ADs (assistant directors) are killing me. Why would they have two doctors examining on patient?'" he said.
Oliveira played dumb and suggested the extra examine another patient.
"I come right in between Maura (Tierney) and (Anthony) Edwards," he chuckled. "There's a real good picture of me walking down the hall with this nurse.
"My wife thought we were going to get kicked off the set."
It was a lot of work for a split-second background appearance, but the cameo will live on of Oliveira's career in showbiz: a few years later, the doctor assisted in writing an ER episode about hyperbaric medicine.
Name: Dr. Noel Oliveira
Hometown: McAllen
Job: M.D., TV extra and script consultant
You've seen him: For a split second on ER's sixth season episode Abby Road.
Where you'll see him next: Playing with his band the Renaissance Rockers at a RGV Diabetes Association benefit concert at Las Palmas Resort on Hackberry in McAllen.
What you might not know: He declined a potential position as ER's technical director
What surprised him about his on-set experience: "You're there 13 hours for a few seconds of appearance."
In the future: He wants to work with ER writer and producer Joe Sachs on a project. "I'm pushing him because I want to see what he's going to do ER ... I've always wanted to help produce or write a movie." And though he knows a project with the big-time writer and producers might be a long shot, "I'm very small fish in his pond but at least I'm somewhere in the pond," he said.
His odd Hollywood connection: Oliveira's brother, who lives in Seattle, is good friends with The Bachelor star Jason Mesnick, who was recently blasted in blogs after breaking off his engagement on the air during the The Bachelor's reunion special and instead choosing runner-up Molly Malaney. His nephews go to school with Mesnick's son. "He's not the way they paint him on TV. He's actually a real nice guy," Oliveira said.
* JOSH WISE: Mission actor starred in films, TV with Hilary Duff, 'Gossip Girl''s Penn Badgley
* SHELBIE BRUCE: Valley girl in 'Spanglish' is now an L.A. woman
* LINDSAY GRAHAM: Sharyland grad helped cast Oscar-nominated film The Wrestler
* CARLOS MORENO: San Juan actor had roles in Transformers, ER
* ENRIQUE CASTILLO: A South Texan who wrote music in Will Smith's new film, Seven Pounds
* VERONICA LOREN: A McAllen actress and singer who's sweeping 2008's indie awards
* LIZ RAMOS: A McAllen dancer who taught Brad Pitt to tango
* ERIC HAHN: A clown at the Nolana IHOP who did stuntwork in 'Platoon,' 'Delta Force'
* MANDO ALVARADO: San Juan actor shared scene with strippers, Doogie Hauser
* RICK DEL CASTILLO: A Brownsville rocker who found a knack for screenwriting
* RAUL CASTILLO: A McHi grad who has acted and studied with Philip Seymour Hoffman
* TANYA SARACHO: A Valley playwright who is hot in Chicago
* DAVID BARRERA: A San Juan native who was in an NYPD Blue episode everybody saw
* MICHAEL RAY ESCAMILLA: A writer, actor, director and producer from Pharr
* MARISA QUINTANILLA: A McAllen Memorial grad who was in Road House 2
* FAUSTO CUEVAS: A Brownsville drummer who has toured with Britney Spears and Stevie Wonder
* GABRIEL PENA: An Edinburg North grad who does Matrix-style stuntwork
