Clooney spent most of this youth in Ohio and Kentucky, and graduated
from Augusta High School. He was very active in sports such as
basketball and baseball, and tried out for the Cincinatti Reds, but was
not offered a contract.
After his cousin 'Miguel Ferrer' got him a
small part in a feature film, Clooney began to pursue acting. His first
major role was on the sitcom E/R (1984) as Ace. More roles soon followed, including George Burnett, the handsome handyman on The Facts of Life (1979); Booker Brooks, a supervisor on Roseanne (1988); and Detective James Falconer on Hermanas (1991). Clooney had his breakthrough when he was cast as Dr. Doug Ross on the award-winning drama series Urgencias (1994), opposite Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle, and Julianna Margulies.
While filming "ER", Clooney starred in a number of high profile film roles, such as Robert Rodriguez's Abierto hasta el amanecer (1996), and Un día inolvidable (1996), opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. In 1997, Clooney took on the role of Batman in Joel Schumacher's Batman y Robin
(1997). The film was a moderate success in the box office, but was
slammed by critics, notably for the nipple-laden Bat suit. Clooney went
on to star in Steven Soderbergh's Un romance muy peligroso (1998), Terrence Malick's La delgada línea roja (1998), and David O. Russell's Tres reyes (1999).
In 1999, Clooney left "ER" (though he would return for the season finale) and appeared in a number of films including O Brother! (2000), La tormenta perfecta (2000), and Ocean's Eleven. Hagan juego
(2001). Collaborating once again with Steven Soderbergh, Ocean's Eleven
received critical acclaim, earned more than $450 million in the box
office, and spawned two sequels: Ocean's Twelve (Uno más entra en juego) (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007).
In 2002, Clooney made his directorial debut with Confesiones de una mente peligrosa (2002), an adaptation of TV producer Chuck Barris's
autobiography. This was the first film under the banner of Section
Eight Productions, a production company he founded with Steven
Soderbergh. The company also produced many acclaimed films including Lejos del cielo (2002), Syriana (2005), A Scanner Darkly: Una mirada a la oscuridad (2006), and Buenas noches, y buena suerte.
(2005). Clooney won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in
Syriana, and was nominated for Best Director and Best Original
Screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck.
In 2006, Section Eight
was shut down so that Soderbergh could concentrate on directing, and
Clooney founded a new production company, Smokehouse Productions, with
his friend and long-time business partner, Grant Heslov.
Clooney went on to produce and star in Michael Clayton (2007) (which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor), directed and starred in Ella es el partido (2008), and took leading roles in Quemar después de leer (2008), Los hombres que miraban fijamente a las cabras (2009), Fantástico Sr. Fox (2009), and Jason Reitman's Up in the air
(2009). Clooney received critical acclaim his performance in Up in the
Air and was nominated for several awards including a Golden Globe and
Academy Award. He didn't win that year, but took home both Best Actor
awards (as well as countless nominations) for his role as a father who
finds out his wife was unfaithful as she lay in a coma in Alexander Payne's Los descendientes (2011).
Throughout
his career, Clooney has been heralded for his political activism and
humanitarian work. He has served as one of the United Nations Messengers
of Peace since 2008, has been an advocate for the Darfur conflict, and
organized the Hope for Haiti telethon, to raise money for the victims of
the 2010 earthquake. In March of 2012, Clooney was arrested for civil
disobedience while protesting at the Sudanese embassy in Washington,
D.C.
Clooney was married to actress Talia Balsam, from 1989 until 1993. After their divorce, he swore he would never marry again. Michelle Pfeiffer and Nicole Kidman
bet him $10,000 that he would have children by the age of 40, and sent
him a check shortly after his birthday. Clooney returned the funds and
bet double of nothing he wouldn't have children by the age of 50.
Although he has remained a consummate bachelor, Clooney has had many
highly publicized relationships, most recently with former WWE wrestler Stacy Keibler. - IMDb Mini Biography By:
Anonymous
Spouse
| Talia Balsam | (15 December 1989 - 17 September 1993) (divorced) |
Trade Mark
Often plays scoundrels that are likable and have redeeming qualities
His movies often reflect his liberal political beliefs
Trivia
Best man at the wedding of Richard Kind.
Tried out for a position on the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.
He says he will never get married again, not have any children, but Michelle Pfeiffer and Nicole Kidman
both bet $10,000 each that he would be a father before he turned 40.
They were both wrong, and each sent him a check. He returned the money,
betting double or nothing that he won't have kids by age 50.
Waged war against the paparazzi by boycotting Entertainment Tonight (1981), the sister show of Hard Copy (1989), which had filmed Clooney without his permission.
Was voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by People Magazine.
Was voted "Best Dressed Male Television Star."
Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World."
Cousin of Miguel Ferrer, Rafael Ferrer, Gabriel Ferrer, Monsita Ferrer, Maria Providencia Ferrer Murdock, Carlos Campo, Cathi Campo, Cari Leary, and Cristina Stretz. Half-cousin of Mica Darley. Cousin-in-law of Debby Boone and Terry Botwick.
Educated at Northern Kentucky University.
Owned a pet pig named Max, given to him by Kelly Preston, for eighteen years. Max died on December 1, 2006.
Studied acting at The Beverly Hills Playhouse.
Coincidentally, his first steady TV role was in the medical sitcom E/R (1984) that was based in Chicago and co-starred Elliott Gould, Mary McDonnell and Jason Alexander.
Ten years later it would take another TV series Urgencias (1994) (also based in Chicago) to finally launch him into the galaxy of superstardom.
He was talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell's very first guest when her TV show debuted (The Rosie O'Donnell Show: Episode dated 10 June 1996 (1996)).
Committed to O Brother!
(2000) before even reading a script, because of his wish to work with
the Coen brothers. He even accepted a significantly lower salary than
usual.
Reportedly got into a fistfight with Tres reyes (1999) director David O. Russell
on the set. Russell had yelled and derided a few extras out of
frustration and Clooney didn't appreciate it. Russell has since said, "I
wouldn't make another George Clooney movie if they paid me $20
million."
Has stated in several interviews that he has suffered from
bleeding stomach ulcers and is still on medication for stomach pain.
Ranked #27 on Premiere's 2002 Power 100 List.
Frequently stars in so-called "heist movies" that revolve around some type of robbery: Un romance muy peligroso (1998), Abierto hasta el amanecer (1996), Tres reyes (1999), O Brother! (2000), Ocean's Eleven. Hagan juego (2001), Bienvenidos a Collinwood (2002), Ocean's Twelve (Uno más entra en juego) (2004), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), and Fantástico Sr. Fox (2009).
First cousin once removed of Gabi Ferrer.
One of People Magazine's "Top 50 Bachelors" (2002).
Was a pallbearer at the funeral of his late aunt, Rosemary Clooney.
He got his start in a movie starring his cousin, Miguel Ferrer. Later, after Clooney had established himself on Urgencias (1994), Ferrer made a guest appearance on the very first show. George's aunt, Rosemary Clooney, made guest appearances on two shows the first month Urgencias (1994) aired.
Is the sixth actor to play Batman.
No. 3 of 10 Top Sexiest Men in People magazine. (2003)
His voice was dubbed for the singing moments in O Brother! (2000).
Heads his own film and television production company, Maysville Pictures.
Shared an apartment with actor Thom Mathews during the early 1980s.
Was the second man, after Richard Gere, to make an appearance on the cover of Vogue magazine.
Ranked #16 on VH1's "100 Hottest Hotties."
Rode a bicycle to get to auditions as a struggling actor.
He loves the show South Park (1997). He got a hold of Trey Parker,
the creator of the series, and asked for a part in an episode. He was
given the role of "Sparky," the gay dog, which involved little more than
panting and yelping. However, when it was time for South Park to go to
the big screen, Clooney got a full speaking part, as an ER surgeon.
He has Irish, English, German, and smaller amounts (to varying
degrees) of Scots-Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, and French Huguenot,
roots.
Shared an L.A. home with Kelly Preston when both were struggling actors.
Auditioned five times for Ridley Scott for the role of J.D. in Thelma & Louise (1991), a role that ultimately went to future friend Brad Pitt and catapulted Pitt to super-stardom.
Born 2:48 AM, EST.
He loves beer. He does voiceovers for Budweiser TV commercials and
allegedly had a beer keg installed in his dressing room during filming
of Ocean's Eleven. Hagan juego (2001).
Lived in a friend's closet while struggling as an actor in L.A., early in his career.
Is a Dallas Mavericks fan.
He and his Ocean's Eleven. Hagan juego (2001) and Ocean's Twelve (Uno más entra en juego) (2004) co-stars, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Elliott Gould, and Bruce Willis who did a cameo in Ocean's Twelve as himself, all have guest-starred on the TV show Friends (1994), though not in the same episodes.
Appears on the cover of the first Men's Vogue. (2005)
In October 2005, after an accident on the set of his movie Syriana (2005), he suffered from back pain, bad headaches, and memory loss. After several spine surgeries, he fully recovered.
Owns a villa in Laglio at Lake Como, Italy, where he lives several months of the year.
In winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Syriana (2005), he becomes the second generation of his family to win an Oscar. His uncle, José Ferrer, won a Best Actor Oscar for playing in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). Also appearing in Syriana (2005) was Christopher Plummer, who once played Christian to Ferrer's Cyrano in a subsequent production, and later succeeded Ferrer as Cyrano as well.
Frequently involves himself in projects involving the "Golden Age" of television. For example, he produced and starred in Fail Safe. Sin retorno (2000), a throwback to the live television plays of the 1950s and 1960s; he directed and appeared in Confesiones de una mente peligrosa (2002), a movie about Chuck Barris' career in early game shows; and he directed, wrote, and appeared in Buenas noches, y buena suerte. (2005), a movie about Edward R. Murrow's battle with Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Turned down the role of Sgt. John McLoughlin in World Trade Center (2006).
As of 2006, he is the only regular cast member from Urgencias (1994) to win an Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor in Syriana (2005)).
Played a gangster in seven movies: Abierto hasta el amanecer (1996), Un romance muy peligroso (1998), O Brother! (2000), Ocean's Eleven. Hagan juego (2001), Bienvenidos a Collinwood (2002), Ocean's Twelve (Uno más entra en juego) (2004), and Ocean's Thirteen (2007).
In August 2006, he and his producing partner Steven Soderbergh decided to close down their Section Eight production company after a 6-year working partnership.
He and Grant Heslov founded production company Smoke House after his production company Section Eight closed down.
In 2006, voted People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive".
From 1996 through 2003, stuntman Brad Martin served as Clooney's personal stunt double.
His famed "Roman haircut" was actually an accident. While filming Abierto hasta el amanecer
(1996), he wanted to make his character Seth Gecko look really crazy
with a chopped off hairstyle. But the haircut became popular and turned
into a positive.
Suffered from Bell's palsy for a time while he was in high school.
In December 2006, he traveled to China and Egypt to make a
personal plea to Chinese and Egyptian officials to use their ties with
the Sudanese government to help stop the violence in the Darfur region.
Was considered for the part of Reed Richards in Los cuatro fantásticos (2005).
In 2001 was voted Most Eligible Bachelor by People Magazine.
Clooney grew up working in tobacco fields. In his late teens, he
took up smoking and continued to do so through his late 20's. A decision
he regrets and has discussed in numerous interviews. He finally decided
to quit when his favorite Uncle died after a long battle with lung
cancer. Clooney's parents were non-smokers, although many of his Aunts
and Uncles smoked.
In September 2006 he addressed the United Nations Security Council, urging it to act over Darfur.
Helped celebrate a plan to rebuild a hospital in hurricane-devastated Louisiana alongside former President George Bush.
The pair appeared outside the courthouse in Cameron Parish, the only
surviving building in the town following Hurricane Rita. Bush presented
local officials with a check for $2 million from the Bush-Clinton
Katrina fund.
The money will help run South Cameron Memorial Hospital
once it has been rebuilt. Former Urgencias
(1994) star Clooney quipped, "There is good news in all of this, which
is that when the hospital gets up and running, I will not be doing any
of the medical procedures" (20 December 2006).
In 2007, he was ranked #13 on Entertainment Weekly's 'The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood'.
In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated his earnings for the year at $25 million.
Supported Senator Barack Obama's bid to win the Democratic nomination for the 2008 presidential election.
He and his girlfriend, Sarah Larson, had an accident in 2007 while riding a motorcycle. She broke some toes, and Clooney broke a rib.
Turned down two roles which went to Kevin Kline: "Artemus Gordon" in Wild Wild West (1999) and "Guy Noir" in El último show (2006).
Merited a place in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in
the World" (Artists & Entertainers section) with a tribute written
by Roseanne Barr (Issue May 12, 2008).
Quit the WGA in April 2008 after the union turned down his wish to be credited as a co-writer for Ella es el partido (2008). He felt that he was let down by the union.
His favorite song is "Destination Moon" by Dinah Washington.
Friend of Rande Gerber.
Close friends with actress Julia Roberts and actor Brad Pitt.
His production company, Section 8 Productions, is named after Jamie Farr's M.A.S.H. (1972) character "Maxwell Q Klinger" (Klinger tried to get out of the army via a section 8).
He is known for his self-mocking sense of humor. The creators of South Park (1997) spoofed his Oscar acceptance speech in a South Park episode, and his political views in Team America: La policía del mundo (2004). Clooney commented that he would have been really disappointed, had he not been spoofed in the latter.
Appeared on the cover of GQ magazine four times: March '95, October '97, November '98 (with Harrison Ford and Chris Rock) and January '03.
His role as Danny Ocean in the Ocean's Eleven. Hagan juego (2001) trilogy was parodied on Robot Chicken (2005), and the character was voiced by his cousin Miguel Ferrer.
Was in a 2-year relationship with Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis (2009-2011).
Relationship with Stacy Keibler [2011-2013].
During the 2012 Newsweek Magazine Oscar roundtable, Clooney told a
story about working for the women's shoe department of a Cincinnati,
Ohio, department store in 1979.
He said that it was fashionable at that
time for some women to have their fourth toe surgically removed so that
they could more easily fit into tight pumps and heels. He came to know
which women had had this procedure done, and he always tried to pass
those customers of onto his coworkers, since he found the sight of the
deliberately missing toe so disturbing.
He and his father, Nick Clooney, were arrested, on March 16, 2012, for participating in a staged protest outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C.
Has been friends with Sandra Bullock for around 25 years. They appear in a movie together for the first time in Gravity (2013).
Suffers from a form of malaria that surfaces from time to time; he has to live with it for the rest of his life.
Directed one Oscar nominated performance: David Strathairn in Buenas noches, y buena suerte. (2005).
Appointed a U.N. "Messenger of Peace". [January 2008]
As of 2014, has appeared in 6 films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: La delgada línea roja (1998), Buenas noches, y buena suerte. (2005), Michael Clayton (2007), Up in the air (2009), The Descendants (2011)_ and Gravity (2013), and produced the Oscar winning Argo (2012).
In 2002, he made a controversial joke about Charlton Heston getting Alzheimer's disease; for which he refused to apologize.
He and cousin Miguel Ferrer have both shared a role with their respective fathers. Nick Clooney plays the aged version of George's character in Monuments men (2014). Miguel Ferrer played the younger version of Jose Ferrer's character on the Magnum, P.I." (1980) episode, "Magnum, P.I."(1980) {Lest We Forget (#1.10)}.
Personal Quotes
[discussing possible casting choices Mel Gibson and Nicolas Cage for Tres reyes
(1999) before he had signed to the movie] Luckily, both those guys were
tie and gagged in my apartment, and that was a problem for the casting
department.
I don't like to share my personal life... it wouldn't be personal if I shared it.
[on the fact he had nothing to do with the breakup of Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt] I was too busy breaking up Tom and Nicole's marriage.
[speaking about the 2003 start to the Iraq war] You can't beat
your enemy anymore through wars; instead you create an entire generation
of people revenge-seeking.
These days it only matters who's in charge.
Right now that's us -for a while, at least. Our opponents are going to
resort to car bombs and suicide attacks because they have no other way
to win. . . . I believe [Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld] thinks this is a war that can be won, but there is no such thing anymore. We can't beat anyone anymore.
It's not about an opening weekend. It's about a career, building a set of films you're proud of. Period.
Ninety percent of films are pretty mediocre, but they have a built-in audience and open on 3,000 screens.
Confesiones de una mente peligrosa
(2002) bombed. But I can take it. Most of the films I've done haven't
done particularly well. I'm surprised I'm continuing to work.
I don't believe in happy endings, but I do believe in happy
travels, because ultimately...you die at a very young age, or you live
long enough to watch your friends die. It's a mean thing, life.
We've been trying to push our involvement within the studio
system, sort of push the things that we've learned from foreign and
independent films through the '80s and push those things back into the
studio system. Like Un romance muy peligroso (1998) isn't your standard studio film by any means; Tres reyes (1999) wasn't the standard Warner Bros. kind of film.
See, the first thing about actors is, you're just trying to get a
job; and you audition and audition and you finally get them. And you
still consider yourself an auditioning actor. I auditioned for Un día inolvidable
(1996), I wasn't offered that. So you're still in that 'Hey, I'm just
trying to get a job' thing. Then, you get to the point where, if you
decide to do it, then they'll make the film. That's a different kind of
responsibility, and it usually takes a couple of films to catch up. And
then you have to actually pay attention to the kind of films that you're
making.
And then it becomes easier, because once you
eliminate the idea of doing a vehicle. . . believe me, there's nobody
who's encouraging us to make these films, not agents, not . . . we're
not getting paid for these things, and it's not like we're going to make
a mint.
[on making Ocean's Eleven. Hagan juego
(2001)] It was the easiest shoot ever for any actor, and we all knew it
when we were doing it. We were like, it's never going to be better than
this. He [director Steven Soderbergh]
was in hell because it was a really complicated film to put together.
We were like, we're in Las Vegas, we go to work at one in the afternoon,
and we gotta be done by six at night. Six hours of work. Steven was
editing all night.
Steven [Steven Soderbergh]
and I have a great relationship inside the studio system. We make the
kinds of films we want and commercial films at the same time. Steven and
I have lost a lot of money. We are way in the hole. But this is not a
day job. I've got some cash. I have a nice house in Italy. I do OK.
It's true information is harder to get these days. When I was
growing up there were three networks - three news shows, delivering the
same information.
You took that information into your home and you
formed your own opinions. Now we have 130 channels. You go to the
channel that plays to your belief pattern. We start with different sets
of facts, it's more polarizing.
[on Buenas noches, y buena suerte. (2005)] I'm not a snob, I like entertaining films as well. But when you do a film like this, or like Tres reyes (1999) - films that get you in a bit of trouble - it's fun to open up a debate.
An acting career usually has about a shelf life of ten years
before people get sick of seeing you. It's a good thing to have a job to
fall back on and I really do enjoy directing.
I doubt anybody gets taken seriously for very long. I'll be on
some reality show in about six years going, Hey, I had a great year in
2006.
People thought I was Tom and Nicole's bodyguard. They'd come up
and go, "Is it okay if I go up and ask for an autograph?' It was good.
I'd charge 'em three bucks a person. Yeah, you gotta make some money off
of that.
I'm the flavor of the month.
I know what my limitations are as an actor, but my strength is
putting myself into a well-written part. When I get in trouble is when I
have to fix it, or when I have to carry it on personality.
Here is my theory in debunking photographs in magazines.
You know,
the paparazzi photographs. I want to spend every single night for three
months going out with a different famous actress. You know, Halle Berry one night, Salma Hayek the next, and then walk on the beach holding hands with Leonardo DiCaprio.
People would still buy the magazines, they'd still buy the pictures,
but they would always go, 'I don't know if these guys are putting us on
or not.'
You never really learn much from hearing yourself talk.
I don't live at full tilt the way I used to. You begin to hate
waking up with the kind of hangover you get from going on huge benders
with your buddies. Also, since my neck surgeries, I've been forced to
take things easier and not beat up my body the way I used to. I'm more
cautious.
We're the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being
whispered. And we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really
popular. This academy - this group of people - gave Hattie McDaniel
an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of
theaters. I'm proud to be a part of this academy, proud to be part of
this community, and proud to be out of touch.
You can only get so far without discernible talent - then you
either work, or use cheap publicity tricks to keep the public's
attention. Paris (Hilton) has no reason to complain if she is on the end
of bad publicity.
[on films made between 1964 and 1976] It's 12 years and you could
find ten films a year that are masterpieces. They don't make those films
anymore.
You couldn't come near making those films.
Had I not got the Thursday night ten o'clock slot at Urgencias
(1994), if they'd put us on Friday night, then I wouldn't have a film
career. That's luck, not my own genius, though I like to think it was.
I'm protected as an actor by a really good screenplay, number one;
and then a really good director, number two; and then really good
actors, number three - but first and foremost a good screenplay. You
cannot make a good film out of a bad script. You can make a bad film out
of a good script - easily. I've seen that happen before, but you can't
do it the other way around; it always has to be the screenplay.
Here's your options: Live long enough to watch your friends die,
or die young. Now, I'm not pessimistic at all. I'm just saying I realize
that's true. I don't want to see any of my buddies die, and I don't
have any interest in dying young, either. But I had to come to terms
with what I'm not going to do.
If the movie makes money, I make money. If I don't, I've still made the movie I wanted to make.
I never wear makeup for movies and now it's starting to show. It's
funny, because most male actors work with actresses who are
considerably younger. But earlier in my career I was working with a lot
of actresses who were my age or older so people always thought I was
older anyway; and now I'm going through this thing with people thinking
I'm about 60. But I'm kind of comfortable with getting older because
it's better than the other option, which is being dead. So I'll take
getting older.
[on the paranormal] I'm not a big believer in much of that.
Everybody goes through déjà vu and things like that, but I don't really
go for that stuff. I find it mostly to be coincidence.
When his father died of a heart attack, Richard
called and said he was going to Trenton for the funeral. All the boys
were immersed in work at that point and had no time, but I called them
up and told them what happened. There were no commercial flights
available, so I chartered a jet. We didn't tell him we were coming. We
sat in the back of the synagogue and Richard was in front with his back
to us. When he got up and started to talk about his dad, he saw us and
started sobbing. He said, "I'm sorry, but I just saw my best friends
back there." There was this amazing feeling that every one of these guys
had dropped everything just to be there. That's what it's like. People
like that keep you sane.
[2000 quote] The truth is, most actors I know aren't assholes.
They often get that reputation because people around them are assholes.
The people around you can treat people like shit and pretend they are
doing it to protect you. Once, my assistant was rude to someone. I said,
"You know, you represent me when you talk to people." So you have to be
careful. And that's not to say people don't treat people badly in this
business. I once had lunch with a movie producer who was completely
dismissive and rude to our waiter, which told me all I needed to know
about him. I know that someone like that will be nice to me right now -
I'm in a position where he wants to be nice to me, since he needs
something from me. But what happens if I'm not in that position anymore?
If he treats everyone else dismissively, he'll treat me dismissively.
He isn't the type of person you want to work with.
[2000 - On the downside of fame] In Los Angeles, there are a
million famous people around, so you are left alone. They see Mel Gibson
at the grocery store, so they're not impressed with me. But if you go
to any other town and walk into a bar, you can never have a normal
experience. Once people have a few drinks, they get brave. All of a
sudden, there is a crowd of guys going, "Dude!" and hanging on to me.
They want to buy me a drink and sit down and talk. But I've got my
friends, see. I don't want a bunch of guys coming over to buy me drinks.
The funny part is what I end up doing: I'm polite and I sit and talk to
them. I wind up doing the things a girl would do in the same sort of
situation at a bar.
[2000 quote] I'm different from a lot of guys. I don't go up to
girls I don't know in a bar and ask them to dance. I never have. Never.
I've never gone up to somebody I don't know and asked them out. I just
won't do it and never did, because I never wanted to take my ego, as
fragile as any guy's, and hand it to some girl so that she could
demolish it. To me it has always seemed like a stupid thing to do. So in
terms of, like, "Hey, you want to go out?" I don't do it.
[2000 quote on the beginning of fame] Here's an example of how it
works. I had never been to the Playboy Mansion and really wanted to go.
When I finally did, it was for one of the Mansion's pajama parties,
where I was hanging out with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Carrey.
We were all sort of protecting one another; you don't want to seem like
you're desperate. I grew up with the magazine, so naturally I wanted to
see the Grotto. When I got there, I was cornered by about 15 people,
most of them pretty girls. But it's not like you might imagine. Instead,
they all wanted to have their picture taken with me. When that happens,
it's like you're a cardboard cutout for people to stand next to. It's
not like talking to a girl and getting to know her. At the height of it,
when there were people pulling at me from every direction and it was at
its most embarrassing, some guy comes over and says, "Look at this
shit, man! You got it made! Chicks are all over you." " Meanwhile, I was
thinking how much easier it was before this. Then it was just about
being a guy talking to a girl and all the other stuff that's so
interesting about dating-that dance you do. You see somebody at a party
and lock eyes and eventually get closer and closer to each other.
Somehow you find a way to talk and maybe-all that stuff. That's a
turn-on. That has been taken away from me. If you were to ask what I
miss about the anonymity that I used to have, it's that experience, that
slow and natural getting to know someone-that kind of electricity.
[2000 quote] I'm a 39-year-old man. In the way I was raised, this
is the time when you make your mark. In your 20s, you figure out what it
is you're going to be. You do a lot of different jobs. By your late
20s, you sort of have some idea of what it is. Then you spend your 30s
and a lot of your 40s making your mark. You spend your 50s being able to
reap the benefits of the work that you've done.
In college, I basically partied a lot. You gotta understand. We're
a very strict Catholic family. Curfew was at nine p.m. when I was a
senior in high school. So I got out of the house and thought, Oh my God!
People don't ever really like to talk about this anymore, but there was
a period of time when blow was considered OK, like it won't hurt you at
all. It was almost mainstream. All the designer drugs were OK-Quaaludes
and blow. So that was the time in college for me: Drugs and chasing
girls. I came from a town of 1500 people to Cincinnati. I would visit
class every once in a while and stop by and go, "How's everybody doing?"
I was still a responsible kid, but I didn't take school seriously. I
had jobs. I sold men's suits and shoes and worked in stockrooms of
department stores, and I cut tobacco when it was the season. I was
paying for my thing along the way. But I quit school.
[2000 - on a part he wished he had gotten] The part that Brad Pitt played in Thelma & Louise (1991). It was down to three actors, including Brad and me, at one time. I read about five times with Geena Davis.
I thought I was going to get it, but Brad did. The part catapulted him.
I didn't watch the movie for a couple of years and then rented it on
tape one night. I watched it and, of course, he's perfect in the role,
better than I would have been.
[on working with David O. Russell on Tres reyes
(1999)] He'd throw off his headset and scream, "Today the sound
department fucked me!" For me, it came to a head a couple of times.
Once, he went after a camera-car driver who I knew from high school. I
had nothing to do with his getting his job, but David began yelling and
screaming at him and embarrassing him in front of everybody. I told him,
"You can yell and scream and even fire him, but what you can't do is
humiliate him in front of people. Not on my set, if I have any say about
it". Another time, he screamed at the script supervisor and made her
cry. I wrote him a letter and said, "Look, I don't know why you do this.
You've written a brilliant script, and I think you're a good director.
Let's not have a set like this. I don't like it and I don't work well
like this". I'm not one of those actors who likes things in disarray. He
read the letter and we started all over again. But later, we were three
weeks behind schedule, which puts some pressure on you, and he was in a
bad mood. These army kids, who were working as extras, were supposed to
tackle us. There were three helicopters in the air and 300 extras on
the set. It was a tense time, and a little dangerous, too. David wanted
one of the extras to grab me and throw me down. This kid was a little
nervous about it, and David walked up to him and grabbed him. He pushed
him onto the ground. He kicked him and screamed, "Do you want to be in
this fucking movie? Then throw him to the fucking ground!" The second
assistant director came up and said, "You don't do that, David. You want
them to do something, you tell me". David grabbed his walkie-talkie and
threw it on the ground. He screamed, "Shut the fuck up! Fuck you", and
the AD goes, "Fuck you! I quit". He walked off. It was a dangerous time.
I'd sent him this letter. I was trying to make things work, so I went
over and put my arm around him. I said, "David, it's a big day. But you
can't shove, push or humiliate people who aren't allowed to defend
themselves". He turned on me and said, "Why don't you just worry about
your fucked-up act? You're being a dick. You want to hit me? You want to
hit me? Come on, pussy, hit me". I'm looking at him like he's out of
his mind. Then, he started banging me on the head with his head. He
goes, "Hit me, you pussy. Hit me". Then, he got me by the throat and I
went nuts. Waldo, my buddy, one of the boys, grabbed me by the waist to
get me to let go of him. I had him by the throat. I was going to kill
him. Kill him. Finally, he apologized, but I walked away. By then, the
Warner Bros. guys were freaking out. David sort of pouted through the
rest of the shoot and we finished the movie, but it was truly, without
exception, the worst experience of my life.
[2000 quote] When I first started out in television, I took any
job that came along. It was, 'Let's just get a job, any job'. I fought
to get Urgencias
(1994) and I got it and it changed my life. Then, when I started doing
movies, the same thing happened. At first, I did anything that I could
get. But I learned. In TV, I learned to focus on the script, but I
didn't apply that lesson to movies. But the cliché is true: You can take
a good script and make a bad movie. But you can't take a bad script and
make a good movie.
[2000 quote, Playboy Magazine] I love Spencer Tracy.
Love him. He's a hero of mine. I heard he never wore makeup, so I've
never worn makeup, ever. I won't put it on in any movie. I'm dark
complexioned, so I can get away with it. I cut my own hair. It's sort of
still being scrappy. It makes you feel like a guy still. I still can
take my motorcycle apart and put it back together again. It keeps you
feeling like you're still a guy. You have to fight for that. What
happens when you're famous is that you get a flat tire and come back and
your assistants have fixed it for you. You'll come into a bar and it's
really fun and exciting and a guy comes over and says, "Mr. Clooney,
come with us", and they take you to a private room in the back. You're
thinking, I don't want to be in here. I want to be out there. What the
fuck am I doing in here? So you have to fight it as much as you can.
It's possible to be a guy with your friends. You get on your
motorcycles, you head out on the road. It's as good as it gets.
[on Los idus de marzo
(2011)] It's not a bad thing to hold a mirror up and look at some of
the things we're doing [politically]. Everybody makes moral choices that
better themselves and hurt someone else. And then we look at whether
the means justify the ends. So The Ides of March could've been literally
set in Wall Street.
[during the 2012 Newsweek Magazine Oscars Roundtable] "That ego
issue, which is always an interesting thing. What happens is, you get a
modicum of success, and then it becomes about the strangest shit you've
ever seen. I am from Kentucky, okay? We try not to live in trailers.
That is not something that...we don't brag about being in a double wide,
or the largest trailer. And all of a sudden, somebody will come up on
the set--and I've had this happen, where it's like, they're upset
because their trailer isn't the same size. And you go, 'take my
trailer,' because, honestly, that's not what I would consider something
to brag about. And it becomes about certain things, and oftentimes it is
people who haven't experienced it for a period of time, or people who
are trying to hold on to something...being in a trailer is not fun."
[on Paul Newman's performance in Veredicto final (1982)] That was the first time I was very aware of good acting.
[on his support for President Obama's reelection] I fund raised
for him [in 2008] I didn't do any campaigning. I really don't think it
helps to have well-known, famous people campaigning for you, but you can
do fund raisers. I'm a Democrat, I'm a believer in him, I feel like
he's done a wonderful job and I think he's having a tough time in a very
difficult environment. So I root for him, I root for the President of
the United States.
[on working with the Coen Brothers] There's rarely a re-write on a
Coen brother movie. The script they write is what we shoot. And it's
great.
I'm trying to make movies in my life... that last longer than
opening weekend. That's it, that's my whole goal. I don't have to make
money; I do films for scale and then, you know, I go do coffee
commercials overseas, and I make a lot of money so I get to live in a
nice house. ... And I don't give a shit. And people will go, 'Oh that's a
sellout.' And you know what? Fuck you.
[on funding a spy satellite to monitor the activities of Sudanese
president Omar al-Bashir] I want the war criminal to have the same
amount of attention that I get.
It's hard when you get thumped. I've been proficient at failure.
But the only thing you can do is say, "Here's what I won't do next
time." I was a baseball player in school. I had a good arm, I could
catch anything, but I was having trouble hitting. I would be like, "I
wonder if I'll hit it; just let me hit the ball." And then I went away
for the fall, learned how to hit, and by my sophomore year I'd come to
the plate and think, "I wonder *where* I want to hit the ball, to the
left or right?" Just that little bit of skill and confidence changed
everything. Well, I had to treat acting like that. I had to stop going
to auditions thinking, "Oh, I hope they like me." I had to go in
thinking I was the answer to their problem. You could feel the
difference in the room immediately. The greatest lesson I learned was
that sometimes you have to fake it. And you have to be willing to fail.
I did not attend a private boys' school, I worked in tobacco
fields and in stock rooms, and construction sites. I've been broke more
of my life than I have been successful, and I understand the meaning of
being an employee and how difficult it is to make ends meet.
When you're young you believe it when people tell you how good you
are. And that's the danger, you inhale. Everyone will tell you you're a
genius, which you are not, and if you understand that, you win.
I watch Batman y Robin (1997) from time to time. It's the worst movie I ever made, so it's a good lesson in humility.
Salary
| Sisters (1991) | $40.000per episode |
| From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) | $250.000 |
| One Fine Day (1996) | $3.000.000 |
| Batman & Robin (1997) | $10.000.000 |
| The Peacemaker (1997) | $3.000.000 |
| Out of Sight (1998) | $10.000.000 |
| Three Kings (1999) | $5.000.000 |
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) | $1.000.000 |
| The Perfect Storm (2000) | $8.000.000 |
| Ocean's Eleven (2001) | $20.000.000 |
| Intolerable Cruelty (2003) | $15.000.000 |
| Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) | $1 |
| Syriana (2005) | $350.000 |
| Ocean's Thirteen (2007) | $15.000.000 |
