No doubt about it, George Clooney is one of the coolest actors you’ll ever meet.
Humble, straight-shooting and as charming as ever, Clooney is a special guest at this year’s London Film Festival where he’s promoting not one but two films: the political thriller The Ides of March, which he directed, co-wrote and stars in alongside Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Woods. He also takes the lead in Sideways director Alexander Payne’s new tr-omedy (tragic-comedy) The Descedants (out early next year), about a father’s journey to examine his past and embrace his future. Speculation is already mounting that Clooney will get Best Actor at the Academy Award for his role in this flick. TheVine attended the two press conferences Clooney gave in London, here’s what Clooney had to say.
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George, you’ve said The Ides of March couldn’t have been made three years ago because at that time there was too much hope and optimism in American towards the government and politics. Your film is out now, so has something changed?
This film is a fairly cynical look at politics and [three years ago] it wasn’t a very cynical time in our country. I think the hope has been tampered down a bit since then. But, it’s all cyclical and it will change back again, so I do feel optimistic.
How closely do you think not necessarily the specifics but the themes of this film – shifting morality and compromise – reflect the modern political world?
I don’t know. I do know that there are certain deals made all the time, we also know that scandal is not uncommon. You know this screenplay was written before the John Edwards scandal or before the Anthony Weiner scandal, I think people will position whatever their sort of government ailment is onto the film, but I think the film reflects things that are pretty timeless. It’s not necessarily restricted to government but to power and hubris, I think.
How did you find playing a political candidate?
Playing a candidate is tricky. You would think that actors have this great giant ego – and they do – but the ego it takes to do those shots of your chin looking up like this [strikes a thoughtful, pondering pose]. Politicians have a tremendous amount of ego and you have to, I guess, because it’s very hard when the product you are trying to sell to your country is yourself and you’re just selling the hell out of it all the time. Look we have to have it and we need someone who is good at it, but ego is something that was really tricky to embrace as a politician because they really are saying ‘I’m the best’.
What inspires you to be a political person?
My great-grandfather was a Mayor and my father was an anchorman for 40 years. If you were an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio you were very politically-involved. I grew up in a time when most people had a social and political conscience. Some of the biggest changes in our country’s history happened when I was growing up, so I was raised to be a part of those things and to participate and I will continue to do that, even though it sometimes makes you very unpopular...”
Notwithstanding your father’s campaign for office, can we take it that this is probably the very nearest you will get to running for office in anything at all?
I have a very good life and I have a very comfortable existence. If I want to dip my toe into issues involved in politics – like I’m talking about Sudan or Darfur, or any of those kinds of issues where I can actually have some involvement – then I can, and I’m happy to do it and I don't have to compromise as a politician. So I find it to be much nicer where I am.
You mention that you’re really enjoying your life and one can really see that in your films. You recently turned 50 and I’m wondering what are your plans? Maybe you want to direct more films?
I will hopefully move towards directing. As we all know, as you get older there’s less and less roles available and I want to be part of this business for a long time. I remember when I was a young boy in Kentucky and my mum was making my clothes for me and was working some dumb job and I remember some famous actor (who will remain nameless) on television complaining about how hard it was for them and I thought ‘What a jerk’, and I thought ‘You’re living the dream, you should enjoy that because you’ve got the brass ring'. I think that’s an important thing to continue to remember, which is I got the brass ring on and there are things about it that aren’t fun, we all know them, but I get a very easy ride and I understand that so I enjoy what I do.
What’s the best advice your Dad has given you?
I think the best advice he ever game was: don’t ever mix grain and grape. And honestly, truthfully, it’s been the most useful advice he’s ever given me.
There’s a lot of speculation that you could win an Oscar for your role in The Descendants, does that get to you seeing as we’re in October and the Awards are in March?
Yeah, that’ll all work out fine, don’t you think? Look, listen I’ve been on both sides of that equation a few times now and what I have learned about it is that whenever someone says that what they’re doing first and foremost is complimenting the work and for that you say ‘Thank you and that’s a very nice thing to say’ and it really is the result of a lot of people doing a lot of hard work. On the other hand, I don’t remember who wins or who looses and I mean, I’ve won one. What I remember is movies and I really love movies. I’m not so concerned with speculation about winning things because I really enjoy movies and the films that last longer than their opening weekend and that’s my goal. I don’t want to be dead at 75 years old and be like 'Okay you opened 15 films at number one', I don’t want to be the richest guy in the cemetery, so I don’t pay attention to that at all.
By Kelly Griffin