When George Clooney isn’t busy making the women of the world swoon, he spends his time acting, writing, directing, and producing an impressive body of work that will place him in the history books as one of the most important Hollywood figures of all time.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1961, Clooney grew up in a showbiz family that included his paternal aunt Rosemary Clooney and his father Nick Clooney, a TV personality and journalist in Kentucky. George studied at Northern Kentucky University, and for a time wished to be either a journalist or a professional baseball player, but failed to make the cut when he tried out for the Cincinnati Reds. Clooney then moved to L.A. to pursue acting, and found regular work in television throughout the 80s and 90s. His first big part was in the medical comedy-drama “E/R”, which had no relation to the 1994 series “ER” where Clooney found major stardom.
His role as the suave Dr. Doug Ross in “ER” jump-started his career, and within a few years he was taking lead roles in major films such as “One Fine Day” with Michelle Pfeiffer and the indie action-horror sensation “From Dusk Till Dawn”. Clooney was responsible for much of “ER’s” success, and the show saw a major dip in ratings after he left in the late 90s, despite his occasional guest appearances. The tenacious actor also took on the Caped Crusader in “Batman & Robin” and starred in “The Peacemaker” with Nicole Kidman (the first release from Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks studio). Steven Soderbergh’s masterful “Out of Sight” (co-starring Jennifer Lopez) and the quirky war film “Three Kings” continued his streak of head-turning work, as did “The Perfect Storm” and “O Brother Where Art Thou?”.
Known for his interest in contemporary politics and taking on edgy roles, Clooney started a directing career in 2002 with “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”. Though the film didn’t ignite much excitement in the industry due to its box office failure, it was nonetheless an impressive debut and heralded the coming of a major talent, even though it was obvious that Clooney’s directing was somewhat derivative of Soderbergh’s uniquely off-beat and stylized repertoire. Soderbergh and Clooney collaborated again with 2001’s “Ocean’s Eleven” and its 2004 sequel, as well as 2002’s “Solaris”, a remake of Andrei Tarkovsky’s famous art/sci-fi film. The good friends also started the successful production company Section 8.
2005 was a watershed year for the multi-talented filmmaker, as his film “Good Night, and Good Luck.” received a multitude of awards, including Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Clooney), and Best Screenplay (Clooney, with Grant Heslov). His supporting role in “Syriana” won him a much-deserved acting Oscar.
2006 will see Clooney in Soderbergh’s long-awaited thriller “The Good German” alongside Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire, while next year he will star in “Michael Clayton” and "Ocean's 13", which will reunite him with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, and the rest of the gang. Considering the scarcity of modest and socially active stars in Hollywood, Clooney will continue to be a respected and valuable member of the film community for years to come.