George Clooney
Examining Life on the Big Screen
Best known as the hunky,
headstrong pediatrician Doug Ross on ER, George Clooney abandoned
the confines of full-time television two years ago to take his place on
the roster of Hollywood's A-list leading men. Despite having the rugged
frame of a macho action star, Clooney brings a sense of purpose and
vulnerability to the screen. That odd combination allows him to play a
wide range of roles, from Batman in Batman and Robin to a single
dad in One Fine Day to a smooth-talking bank robber in Out of
Sight. In David
O. Russell's iconoclastic Gulf War film, Three Kings, Clooney
played Major Archie Gates. Portraying a conflicted man caught between the
pulls of worldly gain and moral duty, Clooney was able to communicate how
difficult such an internal struggle might be, all the while staying in
line with the movie's off-kilter take on a strange war. Clooney talked
about the strains of movie acting, about his influences, and about the
joys of watching Mark Wahlberg get tortured.
Barnes & Noble.com: You fought hard to
get director David O. Russell to cast you. What was it about Three
Kings that attracted you so strongly?
George Clooney: I thought it was a
hysterically funny story that also had some meaning without being preachy.
It's a black comedy like M*A*S*H and Catch-22. We're like
the Three Stooges through the first half of the film. Then, we become
reluctant heroes, like Atticus was in To Kill a Mockingbird. It's
about people who start out to do something wrong, and eventually do the
right thing. That's great storytelling.
B&N.com: What kind of sacrifices do you
have to make in your personal life to be in the business you are?
GC: You give up a little bit of everything.
I haven't seen my friends. I don't get to do the golf vacations and things
that I got to do with the boys before. But there will be other times for
that. I remember talking to Joel Schumacher before we started Batman
and Robin,, and he said, "All right, we're talking about seven days a
week, can you do it?" And I said, "Physically, can I do it? I think so."
And there I was sitting in the Batsuit from hell, which is the most
miserable thing, and there's fake snow all over me, and I'm covered in
water and I'm sitting in this chair trying to wait for them to call me
onto the set, and I said, "I don't think I can do it. I don't think I'll
make it." But you do. You know that's the bottom line: You do. I worked
seven days a week on From Dusk Till Dawn, and I worked six days a
week on The Peacemaker. I've been working straight through for, you
know, three years now. But I'll be fine.
B&N.com: In Three Kings, you and
Mark Wahlberg survive, but Mark takes some serious beatings. Word is that
you made sure to be on set to watch those scenes.
GC: How fun was that? We'd show up on the
set just to watch Mark get electrocuted. I would be the one yelling,
"Everybody come on, Mark's getting tortured."
B&N.com: Of those films you mentioned,
some have been successes and some disappointments. What's the film you
wish more people had seen?
GC: One Fine Day. That was a
disappointment to us, because it opened over Christmas, and that's when
everyone is looking for Oscar contenders, and this wasn't an Oscar
contender; it was a sweet romantic comedy that should have come out for
Valentine's Day. It was never designed to be a giant hit.
B&N.com: You sound very practical about
your career. What's the process of picking scripts?
GC: Well, in the beginning you take the job
because it's offered to you, period. When I started I was thrilled to get
jobs, period. I danced when I got Return of the Killer Tomatoes,
which you may not remember but I'll never forget. The best thing I've
learned is it's conceivable to take a great script and make a bad movie,
but it is inconceivable to take a bad script and make a good movie. So
ultimately it comes down to scripts, first.
B&N.com: What are the films you look to
when you're determining what kinds of movies you want to do?
GC: I grew up in a generation where Steve
McQueen was a hero, but I also loved Bogey. I think Casablanca is
still one of the top five films ever. My favorite film of all time is a
movie called Fail Safe. Sydney Lumet directed it and I just think
it's the best film ever made. One of the more recent films I really
admired is Dead Poets Society. I walked out of it and thought,
"I've got to do something with my life." It's a rare that a movie will do
that.