George Clooney
ALL ABOUT GEORGE CLOONEY
Full Name: George Timothy Clooney
Date of Birth: 6 May 1961
Place of Birth: Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Spouse: Talia Balsam (15 December 1989 - September 1993) (divorced)
Education: Northern Kentucky University
Father: Nick Clooney, broadcast journalist
Mother: Nina Clooney
Sister: Ada Zeidler
Aunt: Rosemary Clooney,famous jazz singer (†)
Cousin: Miguel Ferrer (actor)
Pets: Max, a black pot bellied pig (1988 - 2006) and two bulldogs named Lou and Bud
Bio:
The son of broadcast journalist Nick Clooney and the nephew of famed singer Rosemary Clooney, Clooney was born May 6, 1961, in Lexington, KY. He made his first television appearance at age five, on his father’s talk show, The Nick Clooney Show. He did not show up again on television until he was in his early twenties; growing up, Clooney had a passion for baseball and only turned to acting after a failed tryout with the Cincinnati Reds. He started out in television commercials and then signed with Warner Bros. Up until E.R., Clooney had played only occasional roles in feature films (he made his debut with a small role in the 1986 movie Combat High) and had starred in a couple of low-budget videos. When hospital drama series ER hit American TV screens in 1994, George Clooney finally achieved the “overnight” success that he’d been working solidly towards for more than a decade. As maverick paediatrician Dr Doug Ross, he won over the hearts of millions. Following E.R.’s success, however, he found himself besieged by scripts and movie offers. For his first big-budget project, he chose to play an action hero in the Quentin Tarantino-written and -produced schlock horror extravaganza From Dusk Till Dawn. After that, he appeared in the romantic comedy One Fine Day opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. For Clooney, 1997 proved to be a good year, as he appeared in three major films, the most hyped of which was Batman & Robin, with the actor replacing Val Kilmer as the mysterious Dark Knight. Though the film is widely considered the worst of the big-screen Batman series, Clooney did receive some praise for bringing an extra sensitivity to his interpretation of Batman. He received greater praise the following year, with roles in two wildly divergent films, Out of Sight, in which he played a suave bank robber, and Terrence Malick’s adaptation of The Thin Red Line.
In 1999, following his much-talked-about departure from E.R. he continued to work on a number of high-profile projects, first lending his voice to the animated South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut and then starring alongside Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube as an American soldier reclaiming Kuwaiti treasure from Saddam Hussein in David O. Russell’s Three Kings. George Clooney was awarded a 2000 Golden Globe for his portrayal of a pomade-obsessed escaped convict in the Coen brothers’ throwback comedy O Brother Where Art Thou? It was around this time that Clooney, now an established actor equally as comfortable on the big screen as the small, began to branch out as the Executive Producer of such made-for-TV efforts as Killroy (1999) and Fail Safe (2000). Soon producing such features as Rock Star (2001) and Insomnia (2002), Clooney next re-teamed with Out of Sight director Steven Soderbergh for a modern take on a classic Rat Pack comedy with Ocean’s Eleven (2001). After the dynamic film duo stuck together for yet another remake, the deep-space psychological science-fiction drama Solaris (2002), busy Clooney would both produce and appear in Welcome to Collinwood and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind later the same year, also making his directorial debut on the latter.
Trivia:
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]
Cousin is actor Miguel Ferrer.
Uncle is the late actor José Ferrer.
Nephew of singer/actress Rosemary Clooney and Betty Clooney.
Education: 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 “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.
Cousin of Rafael 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 “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 and 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.
Son of actor and AMC host Nick Clooney and Nina Warren Clooney.
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, which catapulted Pitt to super-stardom.
Born 2:48 AM, EST.
Best friend is Richard Kind.
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).
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) and 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)
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 who 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).
As of 2006, he is the only regular cast member from “ER” (1994) to win an Oscar.
Was originally to star in Jack Frost (1998) but chose to do Batman & Robin (1997) instead. His part went to Michael Keaton.
Played a gangster in 7 movies: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Out of Sight (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), _Ocean’s Eleven (2001)_ , Welcome to Collinwood (2002), Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007).
He and his producing partner Steven Soderbergh have decided to close down their Section Eight production company after six years of working partnership. [August 2006]
He and Grant Heslov founded production company Smoke House after his production company Section Eight closed down.
He auditioned for the role of Mr. Blonde/Vic Vega in Reservoir Dogs (1992), but was turned down.
People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive”. [2006]
Is frequently cast as a soldier, as seen in “The thin red line”, “The Peacemaker”, “The Good German” and “Three Kings”.
Personal stunt doubles are stunt men Brad Martin, Troy Hartman and James E. Mitchell.
His famed “Roman haircut” was actually an accident. While filming “From Dusk Till Dawn” 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.
Quotes:
“On being one Hollywood’s most eligible hunks: I’ve literally gone out to dinner and a girl comes over to the table and says, ‘Can I have a kiss?’ She leans over, gives me a kiss, I go back to the house, and the photograph is on the TV. It’s hysterical.”
“I came running out of the house naked with my pig,. Max… And my buddy Ben, who was in the guesthouse down below, came running out naked with a gun, because he thought someone was breaking in. So we’re naked like this, and my biggest fexar was that we would end up getting killed and they would find two naked guns, a pig and a gun. [on an earthquake in San Francisco] ”
“I’m only two years older than Brad Pitt, but I look a lot older, which used to greatly frustrate me. It doesn’t anymore. I don’t have to fit into that category and get trounced by Tom Cruise and Brad. - Playboy. July 2000.”
“I decided if I walk outside and get hit by a bus, everybody’ll say, ‘He crammed a load into 34 years.’ ”
“Clooney’s Wild Night with Bill Murray
George Clooney had a wild time when he met Bill Murray for the first time at last month’s Venice Film Festival - the pair partied together until the break of dawn. The Intolerable Cruelty star says he was in awe of the Ghostbusters when he spotted him in a bar - but decided to ignore his nerves and chat to him anyway. George says, “He always makes me laugh. I hadn’t met him before but I saw him in a bar and went over. You can’t not go - it’s Bill Murray. And he was like, ‘Well, look who’s coming now!’ I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, bring it on!’ But we had a great night. I ended up in a wheelchair that I stole from the Cipriani Hotel at seven in the morning, flying around the lobby, screaming at him. He cracks me up. (October 2003) ”
“I bought a piano once because I had the dream of playing “As Time Goes By” as some girl’s leaning on it drinking a martini. Great image. But none of it worked out. I can’t even play “Chopsticks”. But I’ve got a nice piano at my house!” (interview VERO MODA magazine, Autumn 2003)
“My Dad taught me that I have to give back to people and that’s what this is all about.”
Filmography:
George Clooney Filmography as an Actor:
2008 Leatherheads
2008 Burn After Reading
2008 White Jazz
2007 A Journey to Darfur
2007 Ocean’s Thirteen
2007 Michael Clayton
2006 The Good German
2006 Darkon
2005 Good Night, And Good Luck.
2005 Boffo! Tinseltown’s Bombs and Blockbusters
2005 Syriana
2004 Ocean’s Twelve
2003 Intolerable Cruelty
2003 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
2002 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
2002 Welcome to Collinwood
2002 Solaris
2001 Spy Kids
2001 Ocean’s Eleven
2001 America: A Tribute to Heroes
2000 O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2000 Fail Safe
2000 The Perfect Storm
2000 ER: Such Sweet Sorrow
1999 Tony Bennett: Live By Request
1999 South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
1999 Three Kings
1998 Murphy Brown: Never Can Say Goodbye, Part 2
1998 ER: Season 05
1998 Out of Sight
1998 The Thin Red Line
1997 Batman & Robin
1997 The Peacemaker
1997 Full-Tilt Boogie
1997 ER: Season 04
1996 ER: Season 03
1996 One Fine Day
1996 From Dusk Till Dawn
1995 ER: Season 02
1995 Saturday Night Live: George Clooney
1995 Friends: The One with Two Parts, Part 2
1994 ER [TV Series]
1994 ER: Season 01
1993 Without Warning: Terror in the Towers
1993 Un-Becoming Age
1993 The Harvest
1992 The Magic Bubble
1991 Roseanne: Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down
1990 Roseanne: Trick or Treat
1990 Red Surf
1990 Sunset Beat
1989 Roseanne: Workin’ Overtime
1989 Roseanne: Canoga Time
1989 Roseanne: Let’s Call It Quits
1989 Roseanne: Bridge Over Troubled Sonny
1989 Roseanne: Dan’s Birthday Bash
1988 Roseanne: Season 01
1988 Roseanne: Here’s to Good Friends
1988 Roseanne: Lovers’ Lanes
1988 Roseanne: The Memory Game
1988 Roseanne: Radio Days
1988 Return of the Killer Tomatoes!
1987 Murder, She Wrote: No Laughing Murder
1987 Return to Horror High
1986 Combat High
1979 The Facts of Life [TV Series]
George Clooney Filmography as a Director:
2008 Belmont Boys
2008 Leatherheads
2005 Good Night, And Good Luck.
2004 Unscripted [TV Series]
2002 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
George Clooney Filmography as an Executive Producer:
2007 Wind Chill
2007 Michael Clayton
2006 A Scanner Darkly
2006 The Half Life of Timofey Berezin
2005 Syriana
2005 Rumor Has It…
2004 Unscripted [TV Series]
2003 K Street [TV Series]
2002 Far from Heaven
2002 Insomnia
2001 Rock Star
2000 Fail Safe
George Clooney Filmography as a Producer:
2008 White Jazz
2008 Tishomingo Blues
2007 A Journey to Darfur
2006 The Good German
2005 Good Night, And Good Luck.
2005 The Jacket
2004 Criminal
2002 Welcome to Collinwood
George Clooney Filmography as a Screenwriter:
2008 Leatherheads
2005 Good Night, And Good Luck.
George Clooney Awards:
Academy
2005 Best Original Screenplay Good NIght, and Good Luck
2005 Best Director Good NIght, and Good Luck
2005 Best Supporting Actor Syriana
British Academy Awards
2005 Best Supporting Actor Syriana
2005 Best Supporting Actor Good Night, and Good Luck
2005 Best Original Screenplay Good NIght, and Good Luck
2005 Best Director Good Night,
Broadcast Film Critics Association
2005 Best Screenplay Good NIght,
2005 Best Director Good NIght,
2005 Best Supporting Actor Syriana
Chicago Film Critics Association
2005 Best Screenplay Good Night, and Good Luck
2005 Best Director Good Night, and Good
Directors Guild of America
2005 Best Director Good Night, And Good Luck.
Golden Globe
2005 Best Screenplay Good Night, and Good Luck
2005 Best Director Good NIght, and
2005 Best Supporting Actor Syriana
2000 Best Actor - Comedy or Musical O Brother Where Art Thou?
1995 Best Television Actor - Drama ER
Independent Spirit Award
2005 Best Director Good Night, and good
Kansas City Film Critics Association
2005 Best Original Screenplay Good NIght, and
National Board of Review
2002 Special Filmmaking Achievement Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Online Film Critics Association
2005 Best Original Screenplay Good Night, and
2005 Best Director Good NIght, and
Phoenix Film Critics Association
2005 Best Director Good Night, and
San Francisco Film Critics Circle
2005 Best Screenplay Good Night, and
Screen Actors Guild
2005 Best Supporting Actor Syriana
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Associat
2005 Best Supporting Actor Syriana
Toronto Film Critics Association
2002 Best First Feature [Runner-up] Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Venice International Film Festival
2005 Best Screenplay Good Night, And Good Luck
Writers Guild of America
2005 Best Original Screenplay Good Night, and Good Luck
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