Noah Wyle Says Eddie Murphy Told Him to ‘F— Off’ When He Was 9 Years Old, So ‘The Pitt’ Star Always Signs Autographs for Kids Now

“The Pitt” Emmy winner Noah Wyle has vowed to always sign autographs for kids after he had a memorable run-in with Eddie Murphy when he was 9 years old.

Wyle, who was just voted People’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2026, told Amy Poehler on her “Good Hang” podcast about asking Murphy for an autograph years ago.

“I met Eddie once when I was a kid. I asked him for his autograph, and I said, ‘I really like you on ‘SNL.’ And he goes, ‘What are you doing up that late?’ And I said, ‘Can I have your autograph?’ He goes, ‘F— off, man,'” Wyle recalled. “I always sign an autograph. Whenever a 9-year-old needs an autograph from me, I sign that so fast.”

Wyle, who won his second Emmy last month for playing Dr. Robby on HBO’s “The Pitt,” has never hosted “SNL” in his long TV career, but he did appear on a 2000 episode that was hosted by his “ER” co-star Julianna Margulies. The meeting with Murphy clearly stuck with him and became an inside joke with Wyle’s kids.

“So, I’ve told this story in my house and last year for my birthday, my daughter didn’t know what to get me. My 10-year-old daughter printed up a picture of Eddie Murphy and then wrote on it, ‘Dear Noah, you’re a great kid, Eddie Murphy.’ And she spelled Eddie E-d–d-y,” Wyle said. “And I have it framed in my office. It’s the greatest gift that my 10-year-old thought, ‘You know what?’ And then she came up with the story. She’s like, ‘Dad, you’re never going to believe who mom and I saw yesterday. Eddie Murphy. And we got what you’ve always wanted, his autograph.'”