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George Clooney
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George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Clooney has balanced his glamorous performances in big-budget blockbusters with work as a producer and director behind commercially riskier projects, as well as social and liberal political activism. On January 31, 2008, the United Nations named Clooney a "Messenger of peace."
ney was born in Lexington, Kentucky. His mother, Nina Apostolia Bruce (née Warren), is a former pageant queen, while his father, Nick, is a journalist, anchorman, game show and American Movie Classics host, and an aspiring politician from the state of Kentucky.
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Encyclopedia
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Clooney has balanced his glamorous performances in big-budget blockbusters with work as a producer and director behind commercially riskier projects, as well as social and liberal political activism. On January 31, 2008, the United Nations named Clooney a "Messenger of peace."
Early life
Clooney was born in Lexington, Kentucky. His mother, Nina Apostolia Bruce (née Warren), is a former pageant queen, while his father, Nick, is a journalist, anchorman, game show and American Movie Classics host, and an aspiring politician from the state of Kentucky. Clooney is of Irish and German descent. He has an older sister, Adelia (aka Ada) and his cousins include actors Miguel and Rafael Ferrer, who are the sons of his aunt, singer Rosemary Clooney, and actor José Ferrer. He is also related to another singer, Debby Boone, who married José and Rosemary's son, Gabriel Ferrer. From an early age, Clooney would hang around his father's sets, often participating in shows, where he proved to be a crowd favorite.
Clooney began his education at the Blessed Sacrament School in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Spending part of his childhood in Ohio, he attended St. Michael's School in Columbus, St. Susanna School in Mason, Ohio, and Sir Thomas Rich's Grammar School for Boys, Gloucester, in the United Kingdom. There he developed an interest in theater.
In middle school, Clooney developed Bell's palsy, a debilitating condition that partially paralyzes the face. While suffering from the malady—it went away within a year—his left eye closed and he was unable to eat or drink properly, earning the nickname Frankenstein. "That was the worst time of my life," he told the Mirror in 2003. "You know how cruel kids can be. I was mocked and taunted, but the experience made me stronger." In 2004, Clooney injured himself on Syrianas set during a torture scene. He had some excruciating headaches and suffered short term memory loss. It took a few weeks for his doctors to find the reasons for his health problems. During The Good German's promotion (two years afterwards), he revealed that he still had to wear a back brace due to this injury.
His parents eventually moved to Augusta, Kentucky. He went to Augusta High School where he was the lead in several plays. Clooney has stated that he earned all As and a B in school, and was an enthusiastic baseball and basketball player. He had considered a career in Law at this time, but later retracted. He tried out with the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 to play professional baseball, but was not offered a contract. He did not pass the first round of player cuts. He attended Northern Kentucky University from 1979 to 1981 and, very briefly, the University of Cincinnati, but did not graduate from either.
Career
Early roles
Prior to his success on ER, he met Grant Heslov, a later close friend with whom he co-wrote Good Night, and Good Luck. Heslov was also the president of television at Section Eight Productions, Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh's production company. In August 2006, Clooney and Heslov started a new company: Smokehouse Pictures. Clooney said in an interview that he was driving an RV through the country with Heslov, who, at the time, was getting over a broken engagement, when he got a phone call from his agent telling him that NBC just picked up ER for a full season. Clooney said, "I think I just got my career."
South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, invited Clooney to play a role in the show as the voice of Stan Marsh's gay dog Sparky in the episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", a role with no dialogue except normal dog noises. He later appeared in the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Despite their history, the show's creators, Parker and Stone, lampooned Clooney for his outspoken political views in their feature film Team America: World Police. However, Clooney later said that he would have been offended if he hadn't been made fun of in the film. He was also mentioned in the episode "Smug Alert!", which mocks his acceptance speech at the 78th Academy Awards.
Initial success
Clooney starred in movies while appearing in ER, his first major Hollywood role being From Dusk Till Dawn, directed by Robert Rodriguez. He followed its success with One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer and The Peacemaker with Nicole Kidman, the latter being the initial feature length release from Dreamworks SKG studio. Clooney was then cast as the new Batman (succeeding Val Kilmer, who in turn, had succeeded Michael Keaton) in Batman & Robin, however the film was critically panned for its camp style. In 1998, he starred in Out of Sight, opposite Jennifer Lopez. This was the first of many collaborations with director Steven Soderbergh. He also starred in Three Kings during the last weeks of his contract with ER.
In 1999, George Clooney left the cast of ER to pursue his film career full-time. He mentioned a few times that he would like to do a few cameos; to date, he has only done one. It was confirmed in January 2009 that Clooney would return as Dr. Doug Ross in one episode during ER's fifteenth and final season alongside Julianna Margulies.
Movie career
After leaving ER, George Clooney starred in major Hollywood successes, such as The Perfect Storm and O Brother, Where Art Thou?. In 2001, he teamed up with Soderbergh again for Ocean's Eleven, a remake of the 1960s Rat Pack film of the same name. To this day, it remains Clooney's most commercially successful movie, earning approximately US$444,200,000 worldwide. The film spawned two sequels starring Clooney, Ocean's Twelve in 2004 and Ocean's Thirteen in 2007. In 2001, Clooney founded the production studio Section Eight with Steven Soderbergh. Clooney is generally considered Chief Actor.
He made his directorial debut in the 2002 film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, an adaptation of the autobiography of TV producer Chuck Barris. Though the movie didn't do well at the box office, Clooney's direction was praised among critics and audiences alike.
In 2005, Clooney starred in Syriana, which was based loosely on former Central Intelligence Agency agent Robert Baer and his memoirs of being an agent in the Middle East. The same year he directed, produced, and starred in Good Night, and Good Luck., a film about 1950s television journalist Edward R. Murrow's famous war of words with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Both films received critical acclaim and decent box-office returns despite being in limited release. At the 2006 Academy Awards, Clooney was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck, as well as Best Supporting Actor for Syriana. He became the first person in Oscar history to be nominated for directing one movie and acting in another in the same year. He would go on to win for his role in Syriana.
It was reported on April 4, 2008 in Variety that Clooney had quietly resigned from the Writers Guild of America over controversy surrounding Leatherheads. Clooney, who is the director, producer, and star of the film, stated that he had contributed in writing, "all but two scenes," of the film and requested a writing credit, alongside Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, who had been working on the project for 17 years. In an arbitration vote, Clooney lost 2-1 and ultimately decided to withdraw from the union over the decision. Clooney is now technically a "financial core status" nonmember, meaning he loses his voting rights, and cannot run for office or attend membership meetings, according to the WGA's constitution. He must continue to pay his dues, but gets a break on "non-germane" WGA activities, such as political and lobbying efforts. His decision is also irrevocable. Beforehand, Clooney was an active member of the WGA, even receiving an Academy Award-nomination for writing Good Night and Good Luck. He is currently writing two screenplays with Grant Heslov.
Clooney appeared in The Good German, a film-noir directed by Soderbergh. The film is set in post-World War II Germany.
Clooney is one of only two people to have been given the title of "Sexiest Man Alive" twice by People Magazine, first in 1997 and again in 2006. Clooney also received the American Cinematheque Award in October 2006, an award that honors an artist in the entertainment industry who has made "a significant contribution to the art of motion pictures". On January 22, 2008, Clooney was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Michael Clayton, but lost to Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood.
Clooney is self-deprecating in interviews, telling STV in April 2008 that Leatherheads, one of his lightest movies, is a "cry for peace." In the same interview, when asked about reconciling George Clooney the actor and George Clooney the director, he said "there's a lot of ego there... so I just take it out on the actors."
Clooney is represented by Bryan Lourd, Co-Chairman of Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Other ventures
On July 8, 2005, news reports said that Clooney would be working with Cindy Crawford's husband Rande Gerber to design and build a new casino hotel in Las Vegas. On August 29, the same year, Clooney officially announced his involvement with the Las Ramblas Resort project. However, the project never came to fruition, and the property on which the resort was to be built was sold in June 2006.
After serving as pitchman outside the US for products like Fiat and Martini vermouth, Clooney lent his voice to a series of Budweiser ads beginning in 2005 (which were still running as of September 2007). In September 2007, Clooney defended his work when asked by an Italian journalist how he reconciled working in a Nestle advertisement for Nespresso with his criticism of multinational companies.
After the success of Good Night, and Good Luck, Clooney said, he plans to devote more of his energy to directing. He has said that the directing industry is "a great industry to grow old in." Clooney directed the film Leatherheads, in which he also stars.
Clooney is creating and producing a television series for Showtime titled The Fall of Bob. The Fall of Bob is a half-hour, single-camera black comedy-drama about a man who is committing suicide while a lengthy flashback occurs of what happened before his death.
Clooney is currently working on his next project The Men Who Stare At Goats which is being directed by his best pal Grant Heslov and is set for release in 2010. Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey have also signed on to star. Another project Clooney has signed on for is Up in the Air which is set for a 2009 release. It is being directed by Juno director Jason Reitman.
In July 2008, George Clooney was declared the worst Batman portrayed onscreen. "Batman should be obsessed and blindered […] but Clooney is all cool, ironic detachment and self-awareness." No comment has been heard from the actor.
Personal life
2007 motorcycle accident
On September 21, 2007, Clooney and a girlfriend were injured in a motorcycle accident in Weehawken, New Jersey. Clooney's motorcycle was hit by a car. The driver of the car reported that Clooney attempted to pass on the right, while Clooney stated that the driver signaled left and then decided to make an abrupt right turn and clipped the motorcycle. Clooney suffered a broken rib and road rash; he was treated and released from the Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, New Jersey. On October 9, 2007, more than two dozen hospital staff members were suspended without pay for looking at Clooney's medical records in violation of federal law. Clooney himself quickly issued a statement on the hospital records matter, saying no one should be punished. He said "This is the first I've heard of it. And while I very much believe in a patient's right to privacy, I would hope that this could be settled without suspending medical workers."
Pets
Clooney had a 280-pound Vietnamese black bristled, pot-bellied pig, named Max, that had lived with him for eighteen years. Max died on December 1, 2006. He also had two bulldogs, named Bud and Lou, after the famous comedy team Abbott and Costello. Both of the dogs have since died, one from a rattlesnake bite.
Charlton Heston controversy
Clooney stirred up controversy for remarks he made about Charlton Heston at a 2003 National Board of Review event. "The head of the NRA announced again today that he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease." (Heston had publicly announced his diagnosis the previous year.) When asked if the actor went too far with his remarks, Clooney responded by saying, "I don't care. Charlton Heston is the head of the National Rifle Association; he deserves whatever anyone says about him." Heston himself commented, "It just goes to show that sometimes class does skip a generation," referring to Clooney's late aunt, Rosemary Clooney.
Heston further commented on the Clooney joke: "I don't know the man—never met him, never even spoken to him, but I feel sorry for George Clooney—one day he may get Alzheimer's disease. I served my country in World War II. I survived that—I guess I can survive some bad words from this fellow".
Clooney said he subsequently apologized to Heston in a letter, and that he received a positive response from Heston's wife.
Politics and advocacy
Clooney is a self-described political liberal. Speaking about the Iraq war: "You can't beat your enemy anymore through wars; instead you create an entire generation of people seeking revenge. 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 (Rumsfeld) thinks this is a war that can be won, but there is no such thing anymore. We can't beat anyone anymore."
Clooney is noted for his public criticisms of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. On January 16, 2006, during his acceptance speech for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Syriana, Clooney paused to sarcastically thank Abramoff before adding, "Who would name their kid Jack with the word ‘off’ at the end of your last name? No wonder that guy is screwed up!"
There has been movement to try to convince Clooney to run for political office in his home state of Kentucky, including talk of a Clooney candidacy for US Senate against Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2008. In response, Clooney has said: "Run for office? No. I've slept with too many women, I've done too many drugs, and I've been to too many parties."
Clooney supported President Obama during Obama's run in the 2008 presidential election.
Save Darfur
Clooney is named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for "using star power to illuminate the crisis in Darfur." After making his first trip to Darfur in 2006, Clooney made the TV special A Journey to Darfur with his father Nick, and advocated for action in the US Author Ishmael Beah writes: "He has used his fame to speak wholeheartedly for those who cannot speak, with genuine concern and insight and a deep commitment and selflessness that is rare but does not have to be."
Clooney is active in advocating a resolution of the Darfur conflict. His efforts include an episode of Oprah and speaking at the Save Darfur rally in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 2006.
In 2006, he was involved in several events to highlight the issue. In April, he spent ten days in Chad and Sudan with his father to make a film in order to show the dramatic situation of Darfur's refugees. In September, he spoke in front of the Security Council of the UN with Nobel Prize-winner Elie Wiesel to ask the UN to find a solution to the conflict and to help the people of Darfur. In December, he made a trip to China and Egypt with Don Cheadle and two Olympic winners to ask both governments to pressure Sudan's government.
In 2006, Clooney and his father, journalist Nick Clooney, travelled to Darfur and filmed a documentary, A Journey to Darfur, which was broadcast on American cable TV as well as in England and France. In 2008, it was released on DVD with the proceeds from its sale being donated to the International Rescue Committee.
Clooney is involved with Not On Our Watch, an organization that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities, along with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub. He narrated and was co-executor producer of the documentary Sand and Sorrow.
On March 25, 2007, he sent an open letter to German chancellor Angela Merkel, calling on the European Union to take "decisive action" in the region in the face of Omar al-Bashir's failure to respond to the UN resolutions.
Clooney also appears in the documentary film Darfur Now, a call to action film for people all over the world to help stop the ongoing crisis in Darfur. The film was released on November 2, 2007.
On December 13, 2007, Clooney and fellow actor Don Cheadle were presented with the Summit Peace Award by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome. In his acceptance speech Clooney said that he and Cheadle "Don and I…stand here before you as failures. The simple truth is that when it comes to the atrocities in Darfur…those people are not better off now than they were years ago."
On January 18, 2008, the United Nations announced Clooney's appointment as a United Nations messenger of peace, effective from January 31.
In February 2008, Clooney visited Goz Beida, Chad with NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.
Filmography
Director credits
Producer credits
External links
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