- Committed to O Brother, Where Art Thou? (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.
- During the 1990s, Clooney often publicly asserted that he would never get remarried or 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 wouldn't have kids by age 50. At age 53, he broke his vows to never marry again when he wed human rights lawyer Amal Clooney (née Alamuddin) in 2014. In early 2017, news broke that the couple were pregnant with twins.
- 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 this for the rest of his life.
- 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: World Police (2004). Clooney commented that he would have been really disappointed, had he not been spoofed in the latter.
- Reportedly got into a fistfight with Three Kings (1999) director David O. Russell on the set. Russell had shouted and derided a few extras out of frustration and Clooney didn't appreciate this. Russell has since said, "I wouldn't make another George Clooney movie if they paid me $20 million.".
- 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 co-workers, since he found the sight of the deliberately missing toe so disturbing.
- Tried out for a position on the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.
- A renowned practical joker, of whom Brad Pitt is often a target, George Clooney revealed on The Graham Norton Show, that he had replaced the license plate frame on Brad Pitt's car with one that said, "Fuck Cops". Of course, Pitt was pulled over by the LAPD.
- His famous "Roman haircut" was actually an accident. While filming From Dusk Till Dawn (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.
- 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.
- Resided in a friend's closet while struggling as an actor in Los Angeles, early in his career.
- 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.
- Suffered from Bell's palsy for a time while he was in high school.
- His production company, Section Eight 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).
- 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.
- Was originally to star in Jack Frost (1998) but chose to do Batman & Robin (1997) instead. His role went to Michael Keaton, who had previously starred as Batman in Batman (1989) and in Batman Returns (1992).
- 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.
- 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. George's aunt, Rosemary Clooney, made guest appearances on two shows the first month ER (1994) aired.
- Shared an L.A. home with Kelly Preston when both were struggling actors.
- He loves the sitcom South Park (1997). He got a hold of Trey Parker, the creator of the series, and asked for a role 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 role, as an ER surgeon.
- 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 (2001).
- Is very closely related to the noted Republican president Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's aunt is George Clooney's great-great-great-great grandmother. Which also makes him a distant cousin of Tom Hanks, via Lincoln's mother Nancy Hanks.
- He auditioned for the role of Mr. Blonde/Vic Vega in Reservoir Dogs (1992), but was turned down. The role instead went to Michael Madsen.
- Was the second man, after Richard Gere, to make an appearance on the cover of Vogue magazine.
- Attended Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
- His voice was dubbed for the singing moments in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).
- 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 August 2006, he and his producing partner Steven Soderbergh decided to close down their Section Eight production company after a six-year working partnership. Soon after, he and Grant Heslov founded their production company, Smokehouse Pictures.
- George and Amal Clooney welcomed two babies on June 6, 2017, daughter Ella Clooney and son Alexander Clooney.
- 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 ER (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).
- Frequently involves himself in projects involving the "Golden Age" of television. For example, he produced and starred in Fail Safe (2000), a throwback to the live television plays of the 1950s and 1960s; he directed and appeared in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), a movie about Chuck Barris' career in early game shows; and he directed, wrote, and appeared in Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005), a movie about Edward R. Murrow's battle with Senator Joseph McCarthy.
- Owned a pet pig named Max, given to him by Kelly Preston, for eighteen years. Max died on December 1, 2006.
- Has stated in several interviews that he has suffered from bleeding stomach ulcers and is still on medication for stomach pain.
- On the DVD commentary for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005), George Clooney says that shortly after he met Grant Heslov in 1982, Heslov loaned Clooney $200.00 to buy his first set of headshots, and they have been friends ever since (and later writing and producing partners).
- With his partners sold their tequila brand Casamigos to Diageo Plc, a British multinational alcoholic beverages company for $1 Billion. (June 2017)
- In April 2008, he quit the WGA after the union turned down his wish to be credited as a co-writer for Leatherheads (2008). He felt that he was let down by the union.
- He and his cousin, Miguel Ferrer, have both shared a role with their respective fathers. Nick Clooney plays the aged version of George's character in The Monuments Men (2014). Miguel Ferrer played the younger version of José Ferrer's character on the series episode, Lest We Forget (1981).
- In 2006, his The Peacemaker (1997) co-star Nicole Kidman presented him his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
- In the process of setting the mood at his home for his marriage proposal to fiancée Amal, George programmed a playlist of his legendary aunt Rosemary Clooney's records including the apt, "Why Shouldn't?" (first verse: Why shouldn't I take a chance when romance passes by? / Why shouldn't I know of love? / Why wait around when each age has a sage who has sung / That upon this earth love is all that is really worth thinking of?).
- Uncle is Academy Award winner José Ferrer.
- 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 super-stardom.
- His role as Danny Ocean in the Ocean's Eleven (2001) trilogy was parodied on Robot Chicken (2001), and the character was voiced by his cousin Miguel Ferrer.
- His palatial estate "Villa Oleandra" in Laglio overlooking Italy's Lake Como comprises 15 rooms, a wine cellar, and a master bedroom suite atop three floors. In his garage, Clooney keeps his collection of Piaggio motorbikes. Docked at his pier is a Colombo classic powerboat. Previously owned by philanthropist Drue Heinz, the former mother-in-law of Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of US Secretary of State John Kerry, Clooney discovered the property when the was tossed from his Harley-Davidson motorcycle near the gates of the villa while touring the region in 2001. He purchased the estate for a reported EUR11.7 million in 2002.
- As of 2006, he is the only regular cast member from ER (1994) to win an Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor in Syriana (2005)).
- Waged war against the paparazzi by boycotting Entertainment Tonight (1981), the sister show of Hard Copy (1989), which had filmed Clooney without his permission.
- Turned down two roles which went to Kevin Kline: Artemus Gordon in Wild Wild West (1999) and Guy Noir in A Prairie Home Companion (2006).
- He has Irish, English, German, and smaller amounts (to varying degrees) of Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, Dutch, Welsh, and French Huguenot, roots.
- Rode a bicycle to get to auditions as a struggling actor.
- Is the only person to have been nominated for an Oscar in six different categories. Best Picture for Argo (2012), Best Actor for The Descendants (2011), Up in the Air (2009) and Michael Clayton (2007), Best Adapted Screenplay for The Ides of March (2011), Best Supporting Actor for Syriana (2005), and finally Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005).
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content