Alex Carson
Everyone loves George Clooney. While women admire his unique charm and good looks, men dream of having a love life as colorful as Clooney’s has been. The incredibly handsome and talented actor/director is not only a major movie star, but he is also one of the most revered A-listers in Hollywood today. Some even say that he is the last of Hollywood’s bonafide stars. While George Clooney may not be as prolific today as he was ten years ago, the actor’s life certainly draws a lot of interest. Tabloids report on him almost every day and yet, there are certain things about the actor that fans still don’t know. For instance, not many people know that George Clooney had a near-death experience on the sets of Syriana. In this video, we tell you some interesting facts about the actor.
George Clooney Almost Died on Sets of
Syriana
Syriana, a geopolitical thriller focused on petroleum politics, won Clooney his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In the film, George played Bob Barnes, a CIA operative, and he did all his stunts on his own. Not many people know that the actor almost died on the sets of Syriana. While doing a particularly dangerous stunt, George Clooney endured a spinal injury, which led to a two-and-a-half-inch tear in his back and a half-inch rip in his neck. He also got a cracked skull and was oozing spinal fluid through his nose. His situation is so bad that he rushes to the hospital where he receives blood for the next 15 days and survives on painkillers.
The pain was so excruciating that the actor contemplated suicide. Further, the fact that he couldn’t move at all and experienced regular bouts of severe and debilitating headaches made the whole situation even more unbearable. Thankfully, Clooney fought all the negative thoughts and bounced back eventually. However, the back pain took years to go. He had to fly to Germany to see a specialist and underwent treatment there.
Both George Clooney and Brad Pitt Had Auditioned for
Thelma & Louise
, but Pitt Eventually Got the Part
George Clooney and Brad Pitt are two of the best and most famous actors Hollywood takes credit for. They are great pals in real life and their bromance often leaves audiences in splits. The two apparently came close while working on the Ocean’s franchise.
However, before the two became friends, Clooney held a grudge against Brad Pitt for years. Actually, both George Clooney and Brad Pitt auditions for the role of the handsome young drifter, J.D, in Thelma & Louise and since Clooney likes working with Ridley Scott, he had auditioned for the role not once but five times. As luck would have it, the role ultimately went to Brad Pitt.
In an interview given years later when Clooney had already established himself as a massive movie star, he reflected on the whole event and said that he didn’t watch Thelma & Louise because he couldn’t handle the sting of rejection.
He and David O. Russell Fought a Lot on the Sets of Three Kings
When talented and visionary minds come together, heated discussions and arguments are common. When you are convinced that you can add something to a film to make it better, it is natural to want to be heard, even if means picking up a fight with the director. Turns out that’s what happened between George Clooney and David O. Russell on the sets of Three Kings. However, in this case, things got a little too irritating for both the actor as well as the director.
Three Kings was a wonderful film and received critical as well as box office success. It raked in $107 million at the box office. However, shooting the film became a problem for most of the people involved with the film because of the constant bickering between Clooney and Russell. David O. Russell is famous to be a little too harsh on his actors sometimes. However, in this particular case, he and George came to hate each other so much that Three Kings is the only film that the two have made together to this day.
George Clooney Wanted to Follow in His Father’s Footsteps
Those who want to become movie stars usually start dreaming about a career in acting at an early age. With George Clooney, things were different. George shared in an interview that he aspired to become a journalist. He also loved baseball and therefore, even tried getting into the big leagues. George Clooney tries to get into Cincinnati Reds but refuses a place. While Clooney’s dream of becoming a professional baseball player has remained a dream, his aspirations of being a journalist turned him into a complete package — other than acting, George Clooney has also written and directed films.
We all know George Clooney’s father, Nick Clooney, is a famous journalist and anchorman. However, not many people know that Clooney is also a distant relative of Abraham Lincoln. We will give you more details on this in just a short while. So, stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you are enjoying this video, do not forget to like and subscribe to our channel.
He Had a Pet Pig Named Max
In the late 80s, George Clooney entered into a relationship with Kelly Preston who had only recently divorced Kevin Gage. The story goes that Clooney gave Preston a ride on his Harley Davidson and Kelly was hooked. Well, that’s a trick that worked for Clooney for many years in the future until he decided to leave his bachelor days behind and settle with Amal Clooney. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out with Kelly and before they went their separate ways, Clooney gave his then-girlfriend a very unusual gift: a pig.
After their split, instead of giving away the pig, Clooney decided to adopt him and named him Max. George and Max shared a wonderful bond and for many years, Clooney’s friends joked that his longest relationship was with Max. Max passed away of natural causes when he was about 19.
He Has Won Academy Nominations in Six Separate Categories
To this day, George Clooney has received three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Syriana and he shared an Oscar with Ben Affleck and Grant Heslov for producing Argo. However, here is an interesting fact about George Clooney that not many people know: the actor is the first actor to be nominated by the Academy Awards in six different categories.
Clooney received Best Actor nominations for The Descendants, Michael Clayton, and Up in the Air and a Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination for Syriana. The 2005-historical drama film Good Night, and Good Luck fetched him Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nominations, and the 2011 American political drama film The Ideas of March, which Clooney had directed, won the actor an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. George Clooney isn’t just one of the sexiest people alive but he is also an incredibly talented artist.
He Appreciated Trey Parker and Matt Stone Long Before South Park Became Successful
Before Trey Parker and Matt Stone became recognized as the genius minds behind the crudely animated South Park, they were just two adults creating animated short films, and believe it or not, George Clooney played a key role in making them famous. In 1995, Trey and Matt had created a short film titled The Spirit of Christmas in which Santa was seen dueling Jesus Christ. Somehow, this film ended up with Clooney, who loved it so much that he sent VHS copies of the film to hundreds of his friends to spread the word.
Many years later, when Trey and Matt got South Park on Comedy Central, they repaid the favor done to them by Clooney by offering the actor a minor role on the show. Clooney served as the voice of Stan’s gay dog, Sparky. They also gave Clooney a bigger role in South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. However, Trey and Matt being the irreverent comedians they are did not hesitate before making fun of Clooney in Team America: World Police. The good thing is Clooney is someone who doesn’t mind being the butt of jokes.
Clooney’s Family Tree Overlaps with That of Abraham Lincoln’s
Since the very beginning, George Clooney has been a politically-active celebrity. Many causes are close to his heart and the actor makes it a point to find time to support these causes and do his bit. Clooney’s great interest in politics emanates from the fact that his father was an eminent journalist and anchorman and therefore, Clooney grew up in a political household. However, his political activism can also be attributed to his connection with one of the greatest political leaders of all time, Abraham Lincoln.
People magazine once reported that George Clooney is connected to Abraham Lincoln through Lucy Hanks, Lincoln’s maternal grandmother. George Clooney is Abraham Lincoln’s half-first cousin fives time removed. Well, obviously the connection is very distant but yet how many people can claim to be connected to Abraham Lincoln? Also, you probably know this already but actress and cabaret singer Rosemary Clooney was George Clooney’s aunt.
Clooney Sold Casamigos for $1 Billion
Forbes reported that George Clooney’s net worth was $500 million in 2019. That’s surprising since Clooney hasn’t starred in a single film in the last four years. His last film Money Monster came in 2016. So, how come George Clooney is so rich? Clooney made a boatload of money by selling the tequila brand he had co-founded with friend Mike Meldman and Rande Gerber to Diageo for $1 billion. The deal happened in 2017, making Clooney, even more, richer than he already was. The funny thing is Clooney had invested only $600,000 in the brand.
George Clooney has reached a point in his life where he doesn’t have to act for money, which is probably why the actor has been enjoying a quiet life with his beautiful wife and two young kids.
George Clooney’s next venture is The Midnight Sky, a science fiction film that alongside Clooney will also star Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, and Kyle Chandler. The actor now divides his time between his beautiful mansion in Lake Como and his $10 million manor English country house located about 40 miles away from London. He accepts only a very few projects and instead devotes his time to causes close to his heart and his family. Did you enjoy this video about George Clooney? Is there anything interesting you would want to add to this video? If yes, please leave a comment.
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