Although he has not given up acting, George Clooney acknowledges that as he reaches 65 he feels more fulfilled devoting time to his foundation and school, something he is able to do because he is no longer pursuing a successful professional career.
The American actor, who celebrates his birthday this Wednesday, said in a recent interview with Page Six that he is now doing things he finds “more rewarding,” including the Clooney Foundation for Justice and the Roybal film and television school.
Not being obsessed with his career, Clooney has more time to devote to the things that really matter to him. But he acknowledged that he will never turn down a good character: “If you get a good role, you take it,” he said.
Among those projects he has already accepted is ‘Ocean’s 14’, the new installment of the saga of thieves starring as Danny Ocean, accompanied again by Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Andy Garcia, and which will begin shooting this year.
Or his participation in the film that brings to the big screen the story of the successful French series ‘Dix pour cent’ (‘Call my agent’ in English), starring, among others, Camille Cotin.
An example of his growing relationship with France, which began when he settled in Provence with his wife, Amal, and their children, Alexander and Ella, to live away from the media pressure of Hollywood.
Politics and its rifts with Trump
The actor decided he wanted his children to grow up out of the spotlight and even received French citizenship in December 2025, something heavily criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The president said that the fact that George and Amal Clooney had become French citizens was “good news” because they are “two of the worst political prognosticators of all time” and recalled how the actor abandoned Joe Biden to side with another Democratic candidate, Kamala Karris.
To which Clooney responded, “We have to make America great again. We’ll start in November,” in a reference to the president’s favorite slogan, ‘Make America Great Again.’ It’s one of several verbal sparring matches between the president and the star.
But his political side is not limited to declarations. His Clooney Foundation for Justice, created with his wife, Amal, a lawyer of Lebanese origin, provides free legal assistance in defense of freedom of expression and women’s rights in more than 40 countries.
Along with other stars such as Eva Longoria and Don Cheadle, he has opened a public high school in a mostly Latino area of Los Angeles (USA) for students interested in developing their future careers in the world of film.
Considered by many to be Hollywood’s last classic heartthrob, Clooney has used his fame to speak out for a wide variety of causes: violence in South Sudan, migrant children, the fight against racism, the refugee crisis and press freedom.
George Clooney retires from acting? A long career behind him
A facet of social and political commitment that increased at the same time as his fame as an actor grew.
Born in Kentucky in 1961, he became known worldwide in 1984, past 30, thanks to the character of Doug Ross, the most seductive pediatrician in the series ‘ER’.
Then came bigger projects, such as ‘Open ’til dawn’ (1996), ‘Batman and Robin’ (1997) or ‘The Peacemaker’ (1997), with her friend Nicole Kidman.
He has also collaborated with Steven Soderbergh (‘A Very Dangerous Romance’, 1998 or the ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ saga) and the Coen brothers (‘O Brother!’, 2000) and he has also successfully entered political cinema (‘Syriana’, for which he won his only Oscar as an actor in 2006), or ‘Michael Clayton’ (2007).
Not forgetting his facet as a director, with which he has achieved excellent reviews. Good night, and good luck’ (2005) got six Oscar nominations, and last year he turned it into a Broadway play. But the statuette came to him as producer of ‘Argo’ (2012).
‘Monuments Men’ (2014), ‘Money Monster’ (2016), ‘Trap 22’ (2019), ‘Journey to Paradise’ (2022) or ‘Jay Kelly’ (2025) are some of his most outstanding works in recent years in which he has focused more on his personal than professional life, reported Agencia EFE.
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