A familiar face stops in to 'ER'

HOLLYWOOD - Gloria Reuben raised more than a few eyebrows in 2000 when she went from the front lines of NBC's

ER

to the back line of Tina Turner's rock-and-roll tour. Now she's starting the new year by stepping forward into her past.

Reuben, who won accolades for her groundbreaking portrayal of Jeanie Boulet, a physician's assistant grappling with an HIV diagnosis, returns to the role tonight (10 p.m. on NBC10). She called the experience, billed as a one-time appearance, both emotional and exhilarating.

"It just felt incredible," Reuben said recently in a phone interview from Utah, where she was attending a fund-raiser for the Waterkeeper Alliance, an environmental advocacy group for which she serves on the board of trustees.

The actress, 43, who joined

ER

in its second season, added: "Of course, there was a lot of apprehension and anxiety, like returning home after not having been there for so many years. I didn't know what to expect. But when I got there, it was like no time had gone by at all."

Much has transpired since she last walked the halls of the fictional Chicago-based County General Hospital.

ER

, which recently aired its 300th episode, is struggling in its 14th season, and some industry insiders predict that the series could reach its finale this year.

And there were few familiar faces to greet her. None of the key cast members who costarred with her were around. In addition to Reuben, the show helped launch the careers of Julianna Margulies, Anthony Edwards and Noah Wyle, and it made George Clooney a star.

But she was fueled by her memories. Jeanie Boulet was a first for a prime-time series network television - a woman stricken with HIV determined to continue with her life and career despite the stigma surrounding the virus. She contracted it from her estranged husband, who had had unprotected sex with another woman.

Easing into the older Boulet character was a breeze, Reuben said. "It really felt kind of great to step back into the shoes of Jeanie. There's no better thing for an actor to ask for than to have the opportunity to step back in time and yet have new dimensions to play."

There's also a personal synergy at play: Her return reinforces Reuben's continued work as an AIDS activist.

When Boulet's character departed

ER

, she was still adjusting to her HIV status. The new episode finds her as a divorced mother, running two AIDS clinics. When her son is injured in a fall in gym class, Boulet winds up back in the ER, instantly clashing with Dr. Gregory Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), whom she doesn't trust.

Reuben's return was sparked by a recent conversation with

ER

executive producer John Wells. "We were catching up on things, and I was talking about my HIV activism in the last few years," she said. "We realized we had really done some great stuff on the show in terms of bringing this to the forefront of people's lives. In recent years, that issue seems to have slipped off the radar, so it's great to get back into it again."

The plot surrounding Boulet is typically heavy and emotional. It's that intensity, she said, that largely prompted her departure from the drama.

"In 90 percent of the episodes I was in, there was always intense stuff going on," Reuben said. "That might not be the healthiest thing for an actor. When I'm in a part, I go to the places that are necessary, and because it was so impactful, it was not something I could just leave on the set. So I was burned out, emotionally exhausted, and I had to take a step away from it for a few years."

She said people were confused when they heard that her first post-

ER

gig would be as a background singer and dancer touring with Turner.

"There were folks who thought I left the show to go on tour," Reuben said. "But when I left the show, I really didn't know what was going to happen next. Then I met Tina. . . . I thought, 'This is crazy and fun and wicked.' It was fantastic, and I would do it again."

She has not kept up that much with

ER

, but she has run across an episode when traveling abroad: "There I'll be, speaking Italian. It's way, way too weird to see this younger version of me. . . . I just turn it off."

In addition to her activism, Reuben is performing in

Conversations in Tusculum

in March at the Public Theatre in New York. She also has filmed a drama pilot produced by Steven Bochco, and she is the executive producer of a new film,

Padre Nuestro

, written and directed by her boyfriend, Christopher Zalla.

She's also pleased with her return to

ER

.

"After all this time, there hasn't been anything close to what we did with Jeanie. I'm not one to watch my work, but I'm really looking forward to this episode."