Wyle: My fans dress up more now

Noah Wyle insists the only difference in his fans since he joined Steven Spielberg's sci-fi television series Falling Skies, is the dressing up.

The 41-year-old actor found fame as hunky doctor John Carter in medical drama ER, alongside George Clooney. Now he's graduated from saving lives to saving the world from aliens in Falling Skies, playing Tom Mason, a history professor who leads the charge against aliens in the apocalyptic landscape of post-invasion America.

Noah said: "Fans are fans, and people watch for different reasons. On ER some really liked the medicine, and some tuned in for the soap opera of the characters.

"I find the same is true with this show. Some watch it for the spaceships and aliens, and others hook into the family aspect of the show, or because of the, 'What if?' scenario.

"They tend to be in costume more often than the average ER fan, but aside from that, they seem pretty similar."

The difference for Noah is that's he started on this show in the main role.

"ER was an atypical experience because I started out fairly low on that call sheet and then inherited the show as other characters defected. With this I entered the show at the top of the call sheet, and I was curious to see how I would do," he explains.

"The difference? It's sobering to feel like the old guard with a young ensemble after being the young guy with the old ensemble!"

:: Falling Skies starts on FX on Tuesday, July 3