Gorgeous George

Gorgeous George

25 fascinating facts about Mr Clooney

With more than 20 years in the movie business, George Clooney needs no introduction. The actor, who shot to fame with ER, is back with not only one, but two Academy Award nominations: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for The Descendants and Best Screenplay - Adapted for The Ides of March. We thought we would celebrate and share with you 25 things you might not know about the actor-turned-director. Enjoy!

Don't forget to share your favourite fact about George Clooney in the comment section, or simply tweet us at @stylistmagazine.

Words: Elodie Russo, Pictures: Rex Features and Youtube

Daddy's Girl

In the novel The Descendants, Scottie is said to… More details
Daddy's Girl

In the novel The Descendants, Scottie is said to be wearing a t-shirt saying, "Mrs. Clooney" on it. Funnily enough, George Clooney plays her father in the film adaptation of the book, and he's received an Oscar nomination for his performance.

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George and Max

George's best friend was a Vietnamese pot-bellied… More details
George and Max

George's best friend was a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig called Max. It was a gift from his then-girlfriend, Kelly Preston, who gave it to him in 1988. Max died in 2006 and weighted 280 pounds.

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Up In The Air

In 2010, George Clooney was nominated for an… More details
Up In The Air

In 2010, George Clooney was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Ryan Bingham in Up In The Air. That same year, a real-life person also named Ryan Bingham won the Academy Award for the song "The Weary Kind" that featured in Crazy Heart.

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20 a Picture

The Ocean’s Eleven script that was sent to… More details
20 a Picture

The Ocean’s Eleven script that was sent to Julia Roberts reportedly included a $20 bill and a note from George Clooney saying "I hear you're getting 20 a picture now" - a cheeky reference to the fact that that year Julia Roberts had officially become the highest paid actress at $20 million per picture.

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Emergency Game

Fans of ER may remember the basket ball hoop… More details
Emergency Game

Fans of ER may remember the basket ball hoop outside the ambulance bay. It was George, who liked to shoot a few hoops in between takes, who suggested putting it up. Because it could be picked up by the camera, it quickly became a part of the TV show itself. Clooney's portrayal of the brooding, handsome Dr. Doug Ross propelled his career into the big time so we have a lot to thank E.R. for.

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La Dolce Vita

If you are ever in Northern Italy, why not stop… More details
La Dolce Vita

If you are ever in Northern Italy, why not stop by Lake Como where the actor has a house on the water. George often has his Hollywood friends to stay and it's rumoured they all like to skinny dip together so there's no need for you to pack a bikini.

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He pays his debts

“I didn't become really successful until I was… More details
He pays his debts

“I didn't become really successful until I was in my thirties. I can still remember sitting on the closet floor of my buddy's house, completely broke. My friends would want to go out to dinner, to get a hamburger, and I couldn't afford to go. They had the money to pay, but I didn't want them to pay. That happened a lot. At one point, I remember my buddy Brad loaning me a hundred dollars. He's now running our production company. I'm still paying that debt off, you know?”

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Always listen to your friends

In the last scene of Ocean's Thirteen, when Rusty… More details
Always listen to your friends

In the last scene of Ocean's Thirteen, when Rusty and Danny are in the airport, Rusty tells Danny to try and keep the weight off in between jobs next time. This is a sly dig at George, who had to pile on the pounds for his role in Syriana.

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Frankenstein? Hardly...

When George was in middle school, he contracted a… More details
Frankenstein? Hardly...

When George was in middle school, he contracted a condition known as Bell's Palsy, which left half of his face paralysed . Kids called him Frankenstein as he could only drink his food through a straw. He told the Daily Mirror, "That was the worst time of my life. You know how cruel kids can be. I was mocked and taunted, but the experience made me stronger." Thankfully, it all went away within a year.

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Friendly rivalry

Apparently in 1991 George auditioned five times… More details
Friendly rivalry

Apparently in 1991 George auditioned five times for the role of J.D. in Thelma & Louise, but lost out to a little-known actor named Brad Pitt...

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No Presidency for George

Contrary to his character in The Ides of March,… More details
No Presidency for George

Contrary to his character in The Ides of March, George has always maintained that he will never run for the presidency. We can only agree with his decision as we'd much rather see him on the screen than behind a podium.

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Tell us about it!

In 2000, Clooney said : “In Los Angeles, there… More details
Tell us about it!

In 2000, Clooney said : “In Los Angeles, there are a million famous people around, so you are left alone. They see Mel Gibson at the grocery store, so they're not impressed with me. But if you go to any other town and walk into a bar, you can never have a normal experience. Once people have a few drinks, they get brave. All of a sudden, there is a crowd of guys going, "Dude!" and hanging on to me. They want to buy me a drink and sit down and talk. But I've got my friends, see. I don't want a bunch of guys coming over to buy me drinks. The funny part is what I end up doing: I'm polite and I sit and talk to them. I wind up doing the things a girl would do in the same sort of situation at a bar.”

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Nobel Peace Prize

George Clooney probably has one of the most… More details
Nobel Peace Prize

George Clooney probably has one of the most charitable hearts in Hollywood. He notably helped raise funds after 9/11, the 2004 tsunami and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In 2007, he also produced and narrated a documentary about Darfur, 'Sand and Sorrow' for which he recieved the Nobel Price of Peace. George Clooney is also one of the official United Nations Messengers of Peace.

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Some things just get better…

'You don't want to try to look younger because… More details
Some things just get better with age

'You don't want to try to look younger because you'll look wrong,' he said. 'You dye your hair, you look wrong. You wear a bad toupee, you look wrong. You wear makeup to hide things, you get your eyes done, you look wrong.' Some things just get better with age, including wine and George.

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Hippopotoimonstro... Wait, …

Doug Ross frequently hung his head low in the… More details
Hippopotoimonstro... Wait, what?!

Doug Ross frequently hung his head low in the series, but it wasn't because he was deep in thought. In fact, George Clooney had taken to writing down his lines - including all that complicated medical jargon - on props so he could take a sneaky peek to refresh his memory.

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Let's get political

Unlike many Hollywood stars, Clooney did not… More details
Let's get political

Unlike many Hollywood stars, Clooney did not actively support Barack Obama in his presidential campaign back in 2008. However, he made his opinion public on Good Morning America earlier this year: "“I’m a Democrat, I’m a believer. I think he’s done a wonderful job, I think he’s having a tough time in a difficult environment. I root for him. I root for the President of the United States.”

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Award winning performances

With an Oscar and three Golden Globes, there is… More details
Award winning performances

With an Oscar and three Golden Globes, there is no doubting Clooney's talent. In fact, the actor is nominated for two Academy Awards this year : Best Actor for The Descendants, and Best Screenplay - Adapted for The Ides of March. Good luck, George!

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"This is why Superman works…

In 1997 Clooney was the third actor to get into… More details
"This is why Superman works alone"

In 1997 Clooney was the third actor to get into Batman's famous black costume for Batman & Robin. Despite the all-star cast, the film flopped at the box office. To this day, George Clooney still refers to the superhero flick as one of the worst films he has ever been in.

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Intolerable Cruelty

Intolerable Cruelty is Clooney's second film with… More details
Intolerable Cruelty

Intolerable Cruelty is Clooney's second film with the Coen brothers, after O Brother, Where Art Thou?. He later went on to filming Burn After Reading in 2008 - the third film in what the Coen and George jokingly refer to as the 'Idiot Trilogy'.

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The sky's the limit

George was over the moon (or should that be sun?)… More details
The sky's the limit

George was over the moon (or should that be sun?) when he landed the part of a troubled psychologist sent to an isolated research station in Solaris. The actor even sent Steven Soderbergh a letter explaining why he should play Chris Kelvin. He must have had some strong arguments as he eventually landed the role in 2002.

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So sweet!

A George made of Jelly Bellies? He's so cute, we… More details
So sweet!

A George made of Jelly Bellies? He's so cute, we could just eat him up! This portrait was made up of 10,000 jelly beans and was donated to charity.

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The Descendants author on Hawaii

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Fabulous Co-stars

George has shared the screen with some extremely… More details
Fabulous Co-stars

George has shared the screen with some extremely talented actors, including his pal Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, Ryan Gosling, Matt Damon, Ewan McGregor, John Malkovich and a goat. You read that right. If you look at The Men Who Stare at Goats promotional poster, you will see "a goat" in the main credits. We told you he liked to work with Hollywood royalty.

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The Descendants author on Hawaii

Best-selling writer introduces her top spots

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A Gosling gallery for your delectation
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Out of sight... Not so much!

The kiss he shares with Jennifer Lopez in Out of… More details
Out of sight... Not so much!

The kiss he shares with Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight was nominated at the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss. To this day, we still don't understand why the pair didn't win.

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2012 Oscars: the winners

Find out who won what

The Descendants author on Hawaii

Best-selling writer introduces her top spots

The Life of Ryan

A Gosling gallery for your delectation
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Confessions of a director

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is Clooney's… More details
Confessions of a director

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is Clooney's first try at directing. With seven award nominations and seven wins, it was a success for the actor who had been wanting to get behind the camera for years.

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2012 Oscars: the winners

Find out who won what

The Descendants author on Hawaii

Best-selling writer introduces her top spots

The Life of Ryan

A Gosling gallery for your delectation
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Who's the boss?

Years before he got his big break in E.R., George… More details
Who's the boss?

Years before he got his big break in E.R., George landed the part of Roseanne Barr's supervisor, Booker Brooks, in the hit sitcom Roseanne. Impressive sideburns George...

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2012 Oscars: the winners

Find out who won what

The Descendants author on Hawaii

Best-selling writer introduces her top spots

The Life of Ryan

A Gosling gallery for your delectation
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