Milana Vayntrub’s First Acting Gig Was A Three-Episode Role On An NBC Hit Drama

Many viewers know Milana Vayntrub as Lily Adams, the face of numerous AT&T commercials. Back in the day, though, she was a child actor who guest starred in one of television’s greatest medical dramas — NBC’s “ER.”

Vayntrub debuted in the “ER” Season 1 episode “Make of Two Hearts.” Her character is a Russian girl named Tatiana who gets admitted to the Cook County General Hospital after being abandoned by her mother. The doctors discover that Tatiana has AIDS and her mom has no intention of taking her back. It isn’t all bad, however, as Tatiana befriends a dog who doesn’t leave her bedside while doctors Doug Ross (George Clooney) and Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) attempt to stabilize her condition.

Tatiana also appears in the following two episodes, “The Birthday Party” and “Sleepless in Chicago,” where Hathaway unsuccessfully attempts to adopt her following her treatment.

During her relatively brief time on the show, one member of the “ER” cast made a particularly memorable impression on Milana Vayntrub. In a conversation with “After Midnight,” she revealed that she developed an instant crush on George Clooney.

“The thing is, even at that time, I knew he was attractive,” Vayntrub recalled. “You know when you’re a kid, you don’t know what it is that makes someone attractive? You just know you need them in your house and a part of your family. I kept inviting him over for dinner and I was like, ‘My mom will cook for us.'”

Vayntrub added that Clooney wasn’t even famous at that point in his career — “ER” hadn’t aired its first episode yet when she was filming her scenes. Despite his obscurity at the time, Clooney’s “aura” was apparent to Vayntrub — even at the age of 7.