Matt Damon reveals George Clooney gave up millions, accepting $20K per episode while his co-star took $1M just to break out of TV into film

Damon explained that Clooney didn’t renegotiate his ER contract because doing so would have required giving the show more years, which conflicted with his goal of moving into feature films. Damon said ER was enormous in popularity, but Clooney prioritized career flexibility over short-term pay. Toward the end of the series, Damon noted co-star Anthony Edwards reportedly earned around $1 million per episode, while Clooney remained on a smaller deal.