Clooney hails Goat co-star

Hollywood star George Clooney heaped praised on the acting abilities of his latest co-star today... a goat.

The heart-throb, who has himself recently starred as an animal for animated tale 'The Fantastic Mr Fox', said he bonded with his hairy cast-mate and claimed he was actually a “great actor”.

Animal-loving Clooney, who once had a pet pig, appeared with the creature in 'The Men Who Stare At Goats', which is being screened at the London Film Festival tonight.

“I tell you, this goat was a particularly nice goat – we spent a lot of time together,” he said.

The movie, which also stars Kevin Spacey and Ewan McGregor, features Clooney as a member of a psychic military unit who hones special powers with which he can stop a goat’s heart with just a stare.

He said: “The goat wanted to go over dying so we worked on that for a while. The funny thing was, that goat was a great actor, he would, like, stare at the character. If I could get Ewan to do that it would help...”

Despite forging a friendship with the goat, 47-year-old Clooney said it may be the end of his association with four-legged co-stars.

“No more farm animals and no more children,” he declared as he promoted 'The Men That Stare At Goats' today.

Although the film dealt with the US military, Clooney said he did not really see it as any sort of Iraq war statement.

And he said Hollywood had difficulty representing contemporary issues because of the time-lag in getting a film into production.

He said: “Any topical subject, if it’s Hollywood, it’s going to be a couple of years later because you’ve got to write it, produce it and distribute it so automatically you are never going to be right on the cutting edge.”

:: The Times BFI London Film Festival runs from October 14 to October 29.