LONG LIVE THE KING


G


eorge Clooney lives up to every one of his fan’s expectations. He’s six foot tall and broad of shoulder, and has


that slightly ‘lived’ in quality. He has dark brown eyes that laugh a lot. He’s charming, a gentleman, and hugely intelligent. He dresses well – he’s one of those people who could wear a bin-bag tied in the middle, and still make it into the “best dressed” top three. Nearly every year, he figures in a list of the “World’s Hottest Men” and it's little wonder the ladies love the guy – his zest for life is almost infectious. His role in The Descendants is not a typical movie-star


character.


In an emotional, bittersweet drama Clooney portrays a husband and father who takes off with his two daughters to track down his comatose wife’s lover. The character is somewhat helpless and vulnerable – what Clooney calls “a schlub” – with untidy hair and decidedly unstylish clothes. Talking about the movie he said: “I felt this was a good place to talk about fears and loss in your life and Alexander Payne was the perfect director to do it with. In this film I got to rediscover what it was like to not be confident.” “I enjoyed playing the character but I don’t know that I


can relate to him. But part of my job is to do what is asked of me in the script and not have to worry about whether it pertains to me or not. You don’t have to actually shoot heroin to play a drug addict, you know.” But strangely at a time when he is surrounded by Oscar buzz, Clooney admits acting has lost some of its allure for him.


“You have to remember it’s not just that I’ve done a bunch of films and been around for a long time; it’s also that I’ve done hundreds of television episodes, and acting has been my career for a long, long time,” he says. “I’ve certainly done some turkeys along the way and made some dumb choices in my career, mostly early on. I’m one of the lucky ones who got to make a lot of mistakes very early when no one was paying attention. I did a lot of terrible TV shows and was really terrible in them and I’ve done terrible films but nobody really noticed.” “I’ve had some success at writing and directing, and I


12 beyond


like it. It’s infinitely more creative than just acting and I have things I want to say and do. I feel like I’ve been given these keys and the ability to drive the old man’s car, and I know they’re going to take the keys away at some point, so I want to drive it as much as I possibly can. “I have a real interest in just sticking my


neck out and seeing what happens. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but I’m learning to handle the 'it doesn’t’ part better. “My biggest fear is doing the same things 10


years from now. That would be a failure. It’s something you have to constantly reassess, and asking yourself what you are going to do next makes it a good, long full journey.” Could turning 50 have something to do with his desire for a change in his life? “Ageing on screen is not the easiest thing to do,” he agrees. “There are guys who did it really well, and Paul Newman probably did it the best because he figured out that, at about 55 years old, it’s probably best to start looking at character parts. “You’re getting greyer and older and you


start thinking that there’s a point when people aren’t going to want to see you on screen any more, and you have to beat them to the punch. You don’t want to be the last guy at the party going, 'Where did everybody go?’ You want to be ahead of the curve, not behind it.” Looking back on his career he admits he has


been blessed. “I’m much more successful now than I ever dreamed that I’d be. It’s all icing on the cake from here on in, but you know that I still don’t feel that where I am now is a success.


“I’m someone of a mind that thinks the minute that you’ve truly succeeded, you should call it a day. What I’m truly interested in now is making good movies”. And he is delighted that some of his undoubted clout helps get them made. He’s taken far less than his normal fee on some films just so that they could get finished – or even made in the first place. For a man who heads the Hollywood A List


HONESTLY, MY JOB IS AS GOOD AS THEY GET


and who regularly commands $20 million a movie, it is refreshing to hear. He says reflectively: “I think that I have a


lot more characters in me, a lot more range. I need challenges and I don’t need to stockpile cash and then have this list of really bad movies at the end of my life.” With homes in Los Angeles and in the


tiny village of Laglio on Lake Como in Italy, Clooney admits it is his Italian bolt-hole that gives him most pleasure. It is a place where he can escape the


constant preying eyes that follow his every move. “It’s always good to get back to the sunshine


in Italy and the Italian wine. I love the place. If the locals do see me walking past, they kinda shrug and do the ‘so what?’ bit. It is infinitely preferable to being in a hotel and having a baying mob outside. No-one could claim to be unflattered by that, but it’s also very embarrassing and very intrusive.” George, of course, loves the ladies and is currently dating former wrestler, model and


actress Stacy Keibler 32, whose legs have been called “weapons of mass seduction”. As for the upcoming Oscar Awards where he could well be picking up his second gong, the silver fox shrugs and flashes that famous smile. “I’ll tell you what I am looking forward to – a nice slow dinner with my girlfriend.” Slow is something I doubt either of them


are good at and don’t be surprised to see him partying well into the night at the Oscars clutching more than Stacy.


beyond 13


I HAVE A REAL INTEREST IN JUST STICKING MY NECK OUT AND SEEING WHAT HAPPENS


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