What is the Character Actor Dining Society, you may ask? It’s a “little support group of actor friends,” Wyle revealed, who have fashioned themselves as an eating club: “[The] CADs, we refer to ourselves.” He said, “It’s made up of a group of actors who I hold in the highest regard and esteem, and I’m honored to be among them when we’re together. And when they weighed in and were complimentary, I felt that those meant the most to me, because I really do hold them in such higher regard.”
The origins of the Character Actor Dining Society are hazy; the informal meetings began several years ago, and many members cite Spencer Garrett (Air Force One) as a founding father of the group. Other diners include Alfred Molina, Bryan Cranston (father of The Pitt star Taylor Dearden), Steven Weber, Laurence Fishburne, LeVar Burton, Eric McCormack, Jason Alexander, Richard Kind, Rob Morrow, and Kevin Pollak. Pollak says he brought in Wyle (they did A Few Good Men together), whose initiation took place in 2021. (“[Nights] like this are the reason I became an actor,” he posted at the time.) The group is said to meet for dinner about once a month, but “the texting thread goes on all day every day,” Wyle told Kelly Clarkson.
While his fellow CADs may have provided Noah Wyle’s most meaningful compliments, the ER vet seemed confident in making something he was “really, really proud of” (as he told The A.V. Club) even before the acclaim started piling on. “I don’t like speaking immodestly, but occasionally I know that I’m good at something and I want to give myself the credit for the technique I’ve been able to build up over the last 35 years,” he said in another interview with Variety. “That’s when I feel like Kobe Bryant. I get giddy when I’m given an opportunity to show off like that.” That’s a true CAD right there!
