George Clooney

Biography for George Clooney

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, as son of Nick Clooney, a TV newscaster of many years, who hosted a talk show at Cincinnati and often invited George into the studios already at the age of 5. Avoiding competition with his father, he quit his job as broadcast journalist after a short time.

Studied a few years at Northern Kentucky University. Failed to join the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He came to acting when his cousin, Miguel Ferrer, got him a small part in a feature film. After that, he moved to L.A. in 1982 and tried a whole year to get a role while he slept in a friend's closet. His first movie, together with Charlie Sheen, stayed unreleased but got him the producers' attention for later contracts.

George Timothy Clooney born May 6, 1961 in Lexington Kentucky is an American actor, made famous thanks to his role by Doctor Doug Ross in the emergency series, then by a film career. His father is a journalist. Her aunt, Rosemary Clooney, was a famous singer mainly in the 1950s (she also made two appearances during the first emergency season).

Arrived in Los Angeles in 1982 to embark on an acting career, against the paternal opinion, he runs the cache. He will play in fifteen series of series never broadcast. Note that the first series in which it appears is called E/R, a very similar title of the series which will make it a star, ER (emergencies in French). He will make many appearances in the first season of Roseanne. We will often see it on TV in supporting roles, especially in Facts of Life, Baby Talk, Sisters, Bodies of Evidence, Murder She Wrote (Arabesque).

Accepting several action films with remunerative stamps at its beginnings in the cinema in the late 1990s, he now allows himself to play for very lower pills in author films like O'Brother (for which he received the Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy film). In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde published on August 30, 2000, he explained why he had agreed to play for almost nothing by a question: "How many times do you have to touch $ 20 million to be happy?" »»

In 2000, he founded the company Section Eight with his accomplice of out of reach, Steven Soderbergh. Their ambition, to create within a studio, in this case Warner Bros., an entity capable of producing ambitious films, not necessarily general public, and of protecting its authors from the normal process of a studio. Will come out of films as different as far from paradise, welcome to Collinwood, Ocean's Eleven and Twelve, Confessions of a dangerous man, The Jacket, Criminal (...).

In 2002, he directed his first film, confessions of a dangerous man (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), adapted from the improbable autobiography of the television producer Chuck Barris. He was a nice critical success, if not finding his audience.

In March 2005, he once again set out to make with a film he co-written with one of his best friends, Grant Heslov, Good Night. And good luck. Who tells the fight of Edward Murrow against McCarthy in the mid -1950s. The film, shot in black and white, will be in competition at the Venice Mostra and will open the New York Festival in September 2005. It already benefits from 'A very good aura. At the same time of another of his films also scheduled for the fall of 2005: Syriana de Stephen Gaghan (author of the Traffic script) for which he had to take fifteen to twenty kilos in order to interpret the role of Robert Baer, former CIA agent today retired. During a scene, he seriously injured himself in the spine, which earned him a hospitalization of several weeks long.

In June 2005, the independent film festival in Los Angeles attributed its first independent prize to him in order to honor its career and its choices by prevailing an ambitious author's cinema rather than sometimes not very tasty blockbusters.

He will find his accomplice Soderbergh for a fifth film in October 2005, The Good German, shot in black and white. And he should continue in January 2006 with Michael Clayton, shot in New York.

In 2005, the actor mobilized for the Darfur. Under his leadership, a special episode of the emergency series was broadcast on May 4, 2006 by NBC to raise awareness of American opinion.

George Clooney is an American actor, director and film producer born May 6, 1961 in Lexington, Kentucky. He started his career in the 1980s by playing in television series such as The Facts of Life and Roseanne, before becoming famous thanks to his role in the ER series, in which he played for six seasons. He also played in many films during his career, especially in romantic comedies intolerable cruelty and a new chance, as well as in action films like Ocean's Eleven and his consequences.

Photos

Filmography

Trivia

• Best man at the wedding of Richard Kind.
• Tried out for a position on the Cincinnati Reds.
• Personal stunt doubles are stuntmen Brad Martin, Troy Hartman and 'James E. Mitchell' .
• He says he will never get married again, nor 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. [1997]
• Was voted "Best Dressed Male Television Star." [1997]
• Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World." [1996]
• Education: Northern Kentucky University
• Owns a pet pig named Max.
• 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 "ER" (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.
• Committed to O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) before even reading a script.
• Reportedly got into a fistfight with Three Kings (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."
• Good friends with actor Mark Wahlberg.
• Dated Renée Zellweger and Mariella Frostrup.
• Has stated in several interviews that he has suffered from bleeding stomach ulcers, and is still on medication for stomach pain to this day.
• Ranked #27 on Premiere's 2002 Power 100 List.
• Frequently stars in movies that revolve around some type of robbery (Out of Sight (1998), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Three Kings (1999), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Ocean's Eleven (2001), Welcome to Collinwood (2002), _Ocean's Twelve (2004)_ , and (announced) Ocean's Thirteen (2007)).
• Was once the son-in-law of Martin Balsam and Joyce Van Patten while he was married to Talia Balsam.
• 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 "ER" (1994), Ferrer made a guest appearance on the very first show. His aunt, Rosemary Clooney, made guest appearances on two shows the first month "ER" (1994) aired.
• Ranked #29 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List.
• 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, Where Art Thou? (2000).
• Heads his own film & television production company, Maysville Pictures.
• Broke up with girlfriend Krista Allen (2004).
• Shared an apartment with actor Thom Mathews during the early 1980s.
• Dated Céline Balitran from 1996 to 1999.
• Was the second man, after Richard Gere, to make an appearance on the cover of Vogue magazine. They are the only two men to date that have had this opportunity.
• 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.
• Is of Irish-American decent.
• At 43, he was voted sexiest male celebrity in a 'Naughty Forties' poll conducted for UK television station FX.
• 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 catapulting him to super-stardom.
• Born 2:48 AM, EST
• Best friend is Richard Kind.
• He loves beer. He does voice overs for Budweiser TV commercials and allegedly had a beer keg installed in his dressing room during filming of Ocean's Eleven (2001).
• Lived in a friend's closet while struggling as an actor in L.A., early in his career.
• Is a Dallas Mavericks fan.
• Received the first "Spirit of Independence Award" of the Los Angeles Film Festival and Find Independent (FIND). [June, 2005]
• He and his Ocean's Eleven (2001)/ Ocean's Twelve (2004) co- stars, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Elliott Gould, all have guest- starred on the TV show "Friends" (1994), though not in the same episodes
• His relationship with Krista Allen, whom he met on the set of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), ended after 2 years [March 2004]
• Broke off relationship with Lisa Snowdon after 5 years. [June 2005]
• Appears on the cover of the first Men's Vogue. (2005)
• Frequently involves himself in projects involving the "Golden Age" of television. For example, he produced and starred in _Fail Safe (2000) (TV)_ , a throwback to the live television plays of the 1950s and 1960s; he directed and appeared in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), about Chuck Barris' career in early game shows; and he directed, wrote, and appeared in Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005), about _Edward R. Murrow' 's battle with Senator 'Joseph McCarthy' .
• 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 and is fine now. [October 2005]
• Sought the role of Jack in Sideways (2004). However, the film's director, Alexander Payne, felt that he was too big a star, and turned him down in favor of Thomas Haden Church.
• 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).
• Is the first (and only) actor that played Batman (in Batman & Robin (1997) to win an Oscar.
• Close friends with actor Tommy Hinkley.
• Frequently involves himself in projects involving the "Golden Age" of television. For example, he produced and starred in _Fail Safe (2000) (TV)_ , a throwback to the live television plays of the 1950s and 1960s; he directed and appeared in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), about Chuck Barris' career in early game shows; and he directed, wrote, and appeared in Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005), about Edward R. Murrow's battle with Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
• Ranked #21 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list. Had ranked #43 in 2005.
• Turned down the role of Sgt. John McLoughlin in World Trade Center (2006).

Quotes

Discussing possible casting choices Mel Gibson and Nicolas Cage for Three Kings (1999) before he had signed to the movie: "Luckily, both those guys were tied 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."

"I was too busy breaking up Tom and Nicole's marriage." -on the fact he had nothing to do with the breakup of Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt.

Speaking about the 2003 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 (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."

"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (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".

"Directing is really exciting. In the end, it's more fun to be the painter than the paint."

"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 Out of Sight (1998) isn't your standard studio film by any means; Three Kings (1999) wasn't the'standard Warner Bros. kind of film".

"...directors are the captains of the ship, and it's your job as the lead actor to make sure that the rest of the cast understand that by doing whatever he says."

"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 One Fine Day (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".

"You got to think of things at their worst, not at their best. And Out of Sight (1998) was the first time where I had a say, and it was the first good screenplay that I'd read where I just went, 'That's it'. And even though it didn't do really well box office-wise - we sort of tanked again - it was a really good film. And I realised from that point on that it was strictly screenplay first. 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 (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 [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".

"I'm a hybrid. I succeed in both worlds. I hope that selling out on 'Ocean's Eleven' is not such a bad deal. The trade-off is, I get to go make something uncommercial that will probably lose money."

"Steven [Soderberg] 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."

"I'm not a snob, I like entertaining films as well. But when you do a film like this, or like Three Kings (1999) - films that get you in a bit of trouble - it's fun to open up a debate." [On Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)]

"I think, if you listen to the piece, I certainly did not talk about wanting to kill myself. I was talking about the idea of living for years in that kind of pain. Please don't use my words out of context." [Responding to media reports that he had contemplated suicide following surgery]

"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."

"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."

"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."

Family

• Spouse : Talia Balsam (15 December 1989 - September 1993) (divorced)
• Cousin is actor Miguel Ferrer.
• Uncle is the late actor José Ferrer.
• Nephew of singer/actress Rosemary Clooney and Betty Clooney.
• Cousin of Rafael Ferrer.
• Son of actor and AMC host Nick Clooney and Nina Warren Clooney.

Author of the card

• Creation date: 01/07/2003 by abdest