George Clooney: 'Directing is not something I can do anymore, because I've got kids'

George Clooney has teamed up with Adam Sandler for comedy-drama Jay Kelly, writes Esther McCarthy

Thu, 04 Dec, 2025 - 21:00

There’s a revealing line in George Clooney’s new movie, Jay Kelly, in which he plays the titular movie star contemplating his life decisions. Kelly recalls being given a nugget of advice by an acting teacher who tells him, if success comes his way, he’ll act twice - once as an actor, and once, off-screen, as a movie star.

For Clooney - one of the most famous screen actors of his generation and an actor often described as an old-school Hollywood star - it must have resonated. Did he ever pause in the early days and wonder: is this for me?

“I don't think you have the luxury of doing that when you're a young actor, because you're just trying to get a job,” says Clooney of those times. “You're not really thinking about fame as much as you're thinking about, first, you start out, you do everything for free. You're doing equity waiver theatre (lower or no pay in small venues), you're doing all these things, and suddenly somebody's going to pay you. You're like: ‘I can't believe I'm making money’. And so I don't think you really have the luxury of saying, ‘Well, I don't know if I'm really up for fame’, because you're running headlong towards the next job.”

In any case, Clooney has always felt like an actor who’s comfortable in his own skin. Proud of his strong Irish roots - his great-great-grandfather emigrated to the US in the 1850s and his trips to Ireland have included meet-ups with relatives in Kilkenny and Laois - fame came to him later than for many of his peers. He has since said that enabled him to lead a more straightforward life as he first foraged a career.

Clooney was in his mid-thirties and working as a jobbing actor when he landed the role that would change his life. As paediatrician Dr Douglas Ross in medical drama series ER, he joined a show set in Chicago’s Cook County Hospital that became both an international smash and a critical hit, setting an appetite for and a model that other medical dramas would follow.

It led to smart choices from Clooney to board great movies including Steven Soderbergh’s romantic thriller Out of Sight, David O Russell’s Iraq-set Three Kings, and the Coen brothers’ comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou?

He was already on his way before the Ocean’s film series became a global hit, but Clooney engaged in smaller projects too, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Syriana. He went on to direct several films including his debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night and Good Luck, about journalist Edward R Murrow and his dealings with US Senator Joseph McCarthy. Just this year, he made his Broadway debut in the play of the same name.

It’s the stuff of movie-star wattage that has made him one of the most successful people in his field, but Clooney believes that his career remains a work in progress. “I have eight year old kids, so I have to change my career choices - directing means ten months on the road,” he says.

“Directing right now is not something I can do anymore, because I've got kids, and I've got to be home, and I want to be there for all of that. You make those decisions but it's a lot easier to make those decisions later in life when you've sort of succeeded.

“It’s a lot harder for people who have to make those decisions when they're trying to make their mark and trying to get to there. They are certainly decisions that are made a lot easier when you're 64.”

Directed by Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story), Jay Kelly centres on a famous movie star and his friend and manager Ron (Adam Sandler) as both men are navigating a turning point in their lives. When his youngest daughter embarks on a trip to Europe, Kelly ruminates on the times family life has been lost to success, and decides - uninvited - to join her. This causes chaos in the movie-star camp as his manager (Sandler) and publicist (Laura Dern) aim to micro-manage what they fear could become a crisis.

“It's a really interesting part,” says Clooney. “You know, there's a thing where people are like: ‘Well, you're just playing yourself’ - not really in any way factual, because I'm not a guy who lives with regret. I came to this kind of attention much later in life, and I've had a much different run. I just felt like it was going to be a fun thing to play with - the minute I read the script I was in. When you get a call from Noah, you're probably going to be in it anyway, it's like when the Coen brothers call.”

George Clooney and Adam Sandler in Jay Kelly on Netflix.

The bonus was it gave him the opportunity to work with long-time friend Sandler, who plays Kelly’s beleaguered manager as he manages dramas of his own. Both men agree that the working relationship has fostered their friendship. “It's brought us closer. We had many conversations,” says Sandler of the filming experience. “We were together daily talking. He's one of the most giving human beings I've ever met - takes the best care of any friend.”

Both men agree that while they’ve been friends for a long time, working together on a film has been a different experience. “He's come to the house before for dinner and stuff, but we haven't spent a lot of time where you end up living together,” says Clooney. “You become a little gypsy family. And the first thing you find when Adam comes in, and particularly with his family, who were also working there, and part of it, is that it's just such a loving and warm and kind environment. There are none of the childish things that can happen sometimes on movie sets.”

Sandler, too, has enjoyed a lengthy career, with the Brooklyn-born actor working on Saturday Night Live before starring in a succession of hit comedies that included The Wedding Singer and Happy Gilmore. There have been dramas, too, most notably his work on Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love and the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems.

The latter has been described as one of the most stressed-out movies of recent years, while his character in Jay Kelly is also moving from crisis to crisis. “I do have times, but right now I feel good,” he smiles. “I'm with Clooney. Life's good. He's an elegant man. Speaks well. So there's nothing, nothing bothering me today.”