Early work (1978–1993) Clooney's first role was as an
extra in the television miniseries
Centennial in 1978, which was based on the
novel of the same name by
James A. Michener and was partly filmed in Clooney's hometown of Augusta, Kentucky. Clooney's first major role came in 1984 in the short-lived
CBS sitcom
E/R (not to be confused with
ER, the long-running medical drama). He played a handyman on the series
The Facts of Life and appeared as Bobby Hopkins, a detective, on an episode of
The Golden Girls. In 1986, Clooney made his theater debut in the play
Vicious about
Sex Pistols musician
Sid Vicious. Clooney's first prominent role was a semi-regular supporting role in the sitcom
Roseanne, playing
Roseanne Barr's supervisor Booker Brooks, followed by the role of a construction worker on
Baby Talk, a co-starring role on the CBS drama
Bodies of Evidence as Detective Ryan Walker, and then a year-long turn as Det. James Falconer on
Sisters. In 1988, Clooney played one of the lead roles in the comedy-horror film
Return of the Killer Tomatoes. In 1990, he starred in the short-lived
ABC police drama
Sunset Beat. During this period, Clooney was a student at the
Beverly Hills Playhouse acting school for five years.
Breakthrough and stardom (1994–1999) Clooney rose to fame when he played Dr.
Doug Ross, alongside
Anthony Edwards,
Julianna Margulies,
Eriq LaSalle and
Noah Wyle, in the hit NBC medical drama
ER from 1994 to 1999.
ER was a cultural phenomenon and is now considered one of the all-time greatest television shows. It was the most-watched show in television for three years — in its second, third and fifth seasons — and average viewing figures often exceeded 30 million. At its peak, the show attracted 47.8 million viewers. For his work on the series, Clooney received two
Primetime Emmy Award nominations for
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1995 and 1996. He also earned three
Golden Globe Award nominations for
Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1995, 1996, and 1997 (losing to co-star
Anthony Edwards). Clooney began appearing in films while working on
ER. His first major Hollywood role was in the horror comedy-crime thriller
From Dusk till Dawn, directed by
Robert Rodriguez and co-starring
Harvey Keitel. He followed its success with the romantic comedy
One Fine Day with
Michelle Pfeiffer, and the action-thriller
The Peacemaker with
Nicole Kidman. Clooney was then cast as
Batman in
Joel Schumacher's
Batman & Robin, which was a modest box office performer, but a critical failure (with Clooney himself calling the film "a waste of money"). In 1998, he co-starred in the crime-comedy
Out of Sight opposite
Jennifer Lopez, marking the first of his many collaborations with director
Steven Soderbergh. He also starred in
Three Kings during the last weeks of his contract with
ER. While
ER was a hit, he expanded to form two production companies. The first production company he founded was Mirador Entertainment in February 1996, with former
ABC vice president Deborah Leoni later serving as partner in July 1996, of which the company signed a two-year deal with
NBC via the
NBC Studios production company. The second he founded was Maysville Pictures (formerly Left Bank Productions, which was renamed due to a conflict with the music management firm), named for his home town, with partner
Robert Lawrence, and signed a three-year deal with
Warner Bros. Pictures in November 1996. In order to expand Maysville into the television business, the company hired Ben Cosgrove, Pam Williams (who runs the TV side) and Kevin Field to run the company. In September 1999, Clooney split from producer Robert Lawrence in the Maysville partnership. , Clooney,
Matt Damon,
Andy Garcia,
Julia Roberts and
Steven Soderbergh publicize ''
Ocean's Eleven'' (2001) The following year in 2001, Clooney reunited with Soderbergh for the heist comedy ''
Ocean's Eleven'', a remake of the 1960s
Rat Pack film
of the same name, with Clooney playing
Danny Ocean, originally portrayed by
Frank Sinatra. The film starred Clooney,
Brad Pitt,
Julia Roberts,
Matt Damon and
Andy Garcia. The film cemented Clooney as a leading film star. It is Clooney's most successful film with him in the lead role, earning $451 million worldwide (he appeared, but did not star, in
Gravity, which has a $723 million worldwide box office). ''Ocean's Eleven
inspired two sequels starring Clooney, Ocean's Twelve in 2004 and Ocean's Thirteen'' in 2007. In 2001, Clooney and Soderbergh co-founded
Section Eight Productions, for which
Grant Heslov was president of television. The following year he would work with Soderbergh yet again in the
science fiction drama
Solaris (2002) an adaptation of the
acclaimed 1972 film directed by
Andrei Tarkovsky.
Roger Ebert praised the film and Clooney, writing: "Clooney has successfully survived being named
People magazine's
sexiest man alive by deliberately choosing projects that ignore that image. His alliance with Soderbergh, both as an actor and co-producer, shows a taste for challenge." That same year Clooney made his directorial debut in the 2002 film
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, based on the autobiography of TV producer
Chuck Barris. The film premiered out of competition at the
Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim. Though the film did not do well at the box office, critics stated that Clooney's directing showed promise. In 2003, Clooney reunited with the
Coen brothers in the romantic comedy
Intolerable Cruelty opposite
Catherine Zeta-Jones. Elvis Mitchell of
The New York Times praised their chemistry and the casting of Clooney in the role writing, "the good work comes from George Clooney, who happens to have the
Art Deco profile fit for a 1930s comedy. He scores with his willingness to mock his above-average charisma level and the chiseled chin, cover-guy good looks".
Established star and acclaim (2005–2013) '' at the
2009 Toronto International Film Festival In 2005, Clooney starred in
Syriana, which was based loosely on former
Central Intelligence Agency agent
Robert Baer's memoirs of his service in the Middle East. Clooney suffered an accident on the set of
Syriana, which caused a brain injury with complications from a punctured
dura. The same year he directed, produced, and starred in
Good Night, and Good Luck, a film about 1950s television journalist
Edward R. Murrow's famous war of words with Senator
Joseph McCarthy. At the 2006 Academy Awards, Clooney was nominated for
Best Director and
Best Original Screenplay for
Good Night, and Good Luck, as well as
Best Supporting Actor for
Syriana. He won the Oscar for his role in
Syriana. Clooney next appeared in
The Good German (2006), a
film noir directed by Soderbergh that is set in post-World War II Germany. In August 2006, Clooney and Heslov started the production company
Smokehouse Pictures. In October 2006, Clooney received the
American Cinematheque Award, which honors someone in the entertainment industry who has made "a significant contribution to the art of motion pictures". On January 22, 2008, Clooney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for
Michael Clayton (2007) losing to
Daniel Day-Lewis who won for
Paul Thomas Anderson's drama
There Will Be Blood (2007). Later that year, he directed his third film,
Leatherheads, in which he also starred. On April 4, 2008,
Variety reported that Clooney had quietly resigned from the
Writers Guild of America over a dispute concerning
Leatherheads. Clooney, who is the director, producer and star of the film, claimed that he had contributed in writing "all but two scenes" of it, and requested a writing credit alongside Duncan Brantley and
Rick Reilly, who had worked on the screenplay for 17 years. Clooney lost an arbitration vote 2–1, and withdrew from the union over the decision. He became a "
financial core status" non-member, meaning he no longer has voting rights, and cannot run for office or attend membership meetings, according to the Writers Guild of America's constitution. ,
Grant Heslov and Clooney at the
Venice International Film Festival in 2009 In 2009, he starred in the war comedy
The Men Who Stare at Goats alongside
Ewan McGregor,
Jeff Bridges and
Kevin Spacey. The film was directed by Heslov and released in November 2009. The film premiered at the
Venice International Film Festival to positive reviews. Also in November 2009, he voiced the title character opposite
Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox in
Wes Anderson's
animated feature Fantastic Mr. Fox. The same year, Clooney starred in the
Jason Reitman directed comedy-drama
Up in the Air, which was initially given limited release, and then a wide release on December 25, 2009. Stephen Farber of
The Hollywood Reporter praised Clooney's performance, writing: "Boasting one of George Clooney's strongest performances, the film seems like a surefire awards contender". For his performance in the film he was nominated for a
Golden Globe, a
Screen Actors Guild Award,
BAFTA and an
Academy Award. The following year, Clooney produced and starred in the dark crime drama
The American (2010), based on the novel
A Very Private Gentleman by
Martin Booth and directed by
Anton Corbijn. , Clooney was represented by
Bryan Lourd, co-chairman of
Creative Artists Agency (CAA). In 2011, Clooney starred in
The Descendants as a husband whose wife has an accident that leaves her in a coma. He earned critical praise for his work, and won the
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor and the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. Also, he was nominated for the
Screen Actors Guild for Best Actor, the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor, and the
Academy Award for Best Actor. He was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the political drama
The Ides of March. In 2013, Clooney won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, the
BAFTA Award for Best Picture and the
Academy Award for Best Picture for producing
Argo. The following year, Clooney co-starred with
Sandra Bullock in
Gravity (2013), a space thriller directed by
Alfonso Cuarón. In 2013, Clooney co-founded
Casamigos Tequila with
Rande Gerber and
Michael Meldman. It was sold to
Diageo for $700 million in June 2017, with an additional $300 million possible depending on the company's performance over the next ten years. According to the
Forbes annual ranking, he was the world's highest-paid actor for 2017–2018, earning $239 million between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018.
Focus on directing and Broadway debut (2014–present) ,
Jack O'Connell,
Julia Roberts and Clooney at the
2016 Cannes Film Festival for
Money Monster In 2014, Clooney co-wrote, directed and starred in
The Monuments Men, an adaptation of
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by
Robert M. Edsel. The film starred an ensemble cast of A-list stars including
Matt Damon,
Cate Blanchett,
Bill Murray,
John Goodman and
Bob Balaban, as well as European stars
Hugh Bonneville and
Jean Dujardin. The film was a critical misfire and a box-office failure. Many historians were critical of the film for its historical inaccuracies.
The Guardians film critic Andrew Pulver panned the film, writing that the film was "filled with unearned patriotic sentiment, sketchy to the point of inanity, and interrupted every few minutes with neurotic self-justification". In the same year Clooney produced
August: Osage County (2013), an adaptation of
the play of the same title. The film stars
Meryl Streep and
Julia Roberts. His next film was
Tomorrowland (2015), a science fiction adventure film in which he played Frank Walker, an inventor. Later in the year, he was featured as himself in the
Netflix Christmas musical comedy
A Very Murray Christmas, starring
Bill Murray. The following year, he starred in
Hail, Caesar!, a comedy from the
Coen brothers set in the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s, which premiered in February 2016. Clooney portrayed Baird Whitlock, a
Robert Taylor-type film star who is kidnapped during the production of a film.
Josh Brolin co-starred as
fixer Eddie Mannix. Clooney reunited with
Julia Roberts for the
Jodie Foster-directed thriller
Money Monster (2016), playing the host of a television show that investigates conspiracies on
commerce and
Wall Street, who is taken hostage by a bankrupt viewer given a bad tip. in 2016 In October 2017, his directorial project
Suburbicon a 1950s-set crime comedy was released. It stars
Matt Damon,
Julianne Moore and
Oscar Isaac, from a script written by the Coen brothers in the 1980s, that they had originally intended to direct themselves. He received the 2018
AFI Life Achievement Award on June 7, 2018. The award was presented to him by
Shirley MacLaine, and was honored by
Julianna Margulies,
Cate Blanchett,
Bill Murray,
Anna Kendrick,
Jimmy Kimmel,
Jennifer Aniston,
Courteney Cox and his wife
Amal Clooney. In 2019, Clooney returned to television, starring, directing and producing the
Hulu historical miniseries
Catch-22, based upon the
novel of the same name by
Joseph Heller. Clooney was initially cast in a main role in the series; however, he opted to take a smaller supporting role instead. The series premiered on May 31, 2019, to critical acclaim. After a four-year absence from acting in film, Clooney starred in the
science fiction film
The Midnight Sky—a film he also directed and produced, based upon the
Lily Brooks-Dalton debut novel
Good Morning, Midnight, for
Netflix. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film earned Affleck
Screen Actors Guild Award and
Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. In February 2021,
The Hollywood Reporter reported that Clooney's
Smokehouse Pictures would be teaming with
Sports Illustrated Studios and 101 Studios to produce a docuseries about the
Ohio State University abuse scandal, and that the series would be based on an October 2020
Sports Illustrated article by
Jon Wertheim.
HBO announced in June 2022 that the documentary, now a feature-length film, had started production with a planned debut on HBO and
HBO MAX. The film, titled
Surviving Ohio State, was released on June 17, 2025. In 2022, he reunited with
Julia Roberts for a romantic comedy film
Ticket to Paradise directed by
Ol Parker. It was initially set to release in theatres on September 30, 2022, but was pushed by a month to October 21, 2022. In 2023, Clooney reprised the role of
Bruce Wayne / Batman in a cameo in
The Flash. Clooney next film as a director was the biographical sports drama
The Boys in the Boat which was released on December 25, 2023. The film starred
Callum Turner and
Joel Edgerton and received mixed reviews. The film was based on the
book of the same name by
Daniel James Brown. Clooney re-teamed with
Brad Pitt for the
Apple TV+ thriller film
Wolfs (2024) written and directed by
Jon Watts which premiered to positive reviews at the
Venice International Film Festival. In 2025, Clooney made his
Broadway debut as an actor in the stage adaption of
Good Night, and Good Luck where he is currently portraying
Edward R. Murrow. He and
Grant Heslov also serve as the playwrights having adapted the play from their
2005 film of the same name. Sara Holden of
Vulture wrote, "Clooney - probably the closest thing contemporary Hollywood has to a
Cary Grant - carries [a] sense of responsibility onto the stage". The production was nominated for five
Tony Awards including
Best Actor in a Play for Clooney. The production was aired live, the first for a Broadway show, and was shown on
CNN and
HBO and was a ratings success. In 2025, Clooney starred alongside
Laura Dern and
Adam Sandler in the
Noah Baumbach dramedy
Jay Kelly from
Netflix. ==Activism and public advocacy==