George Clooney Knows You Think Jay Kelly Is About Him

George Clooney didn’t have to dig too deep to portray the world-famous actor at the center of Jay Kelly—or so he jokes. “It was Method acting,” he says, laughing. The 64-year-old Oscar winner recalls sitting at home, “wondering if I would ever work again,” when his agent called about the Noah Baumbach film. Clooney said yes on the spot, without even reading the script first. There are certain directors, he notes—Alexander Payne, Steven Soderbergh, Alfonso Cuarón, the Coen brothers, and now Baumbach—“you just say yes to, no matter what they’re doing.”

Cowritten by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, the movie follows Jay, a Hollywood icon whose celebrity sheen has begun to fade. With his devoted manager, Ron (Adam Sandler) and entourage by his side, Jay shuttles from film sets to red carpets to a trip through Europe. The journey becomes a personal reckoning as Jay confronts complicated relationships with his daughters, a dwindling inner circle, and the creeping realization that fame offers little protection from loneliness.

At first glance, the premise might suggest a winking commentary on Clooney himself—one of the last capital-M movie stars. But, as he’s quick to clarify, Jay’s troubles bear no resemblance to his own.

Were you nervous about playing a big Hollywood star, since it’s something you know nothing about? [Laughs]

It’s funny, because I get why people go, “Isn’t this a little close to home?” It didn’t feel that way to me because the guy has made such mistakes in his life. He’s isolated from his family, which I’m not. He has only friends that he pays, which I haven’t. I should maybe start paying my friends, but I haven’t yet done that. It didn’t feel like me, so it was easy to remove myself and just play a character.

Do you still get scared before the first day of a shoot?

I’m always nervous. It’s nice to be 64 years old and still feel like maybe you don’t have it. I did this play on Broadway, Good Night, and Good Luck. I was nervous every day. It’s helpful to not know exactly what you’re going to do or if you can do it. When I started with Noah, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to give him what he needed, because Jay is kind of a jerk, but you’ve got to root for him. It was about trying to make this character likable, even though he’s done some not-so-great things.

You have 8-year-old twins now. Are they huge fans of Halloween?

Halloween’s a big holiday. My son went as Batman. He hadn’t seen Batman yet. I always say to him, “You know I was Batman.” He’s always like, “No.” I don’t know that he knew how profound it was when he said I wasn’t Batman. A couple of weeks ago, I finally showed it to him. It wasn’t great for grown-ups, but it’s great for 8-year-olds, so he loved it. My daughter, meanwhile, went as a witch. She doesn’t like all the princess stuff. She likes to be the evil witch.

During the early part of your career, before ER, when you were on shows like The Facts of Life, did you ever think of quitting?

About 10 years in, I got in an argument with an executive producer. I was the third or fourth banana on a TV show, and I had to leave. I thought that was the end of my career. I wasn’t in a position of power, but I wasn’t going to be spoken to the way that I was. I told him to knock it off. He yelled at me. I yelled back. It’s still debatable whether I was fired or I quit. But someone who I had helped out years earlier read that I’d been fired. He brought me in for an audition and gave me a pilot. That kept me in town.

Do you ever get starstruck?

Yes, by the movie stars I grew up with. Robert Redford and Paul Newman were bigger than life. It’s sad that Redford is gone, because he always felt like the young golden boy. They were both so beautiful and had great senses of humor. I think they were the last of the proper name-above-the-title movie stars.

You and Brad Pitt are like Redford and Newman.

I wish that were true.

Where was your first kiss?

In the back of a church in my hometown of Augusta, Kentucky. I was 11. We were hiding from all of our friends who were outside waiting, saying, “Kiss her! Kiss her!” The relationship didn’t last—11-year-olds move on pretty quickly.

What was the best birthday you ever had?

I was in Tuscany with my wife, Adam Sandler, and Adam’s daughter, who has the same birthday as me. We were celebrating while we were shooting a movie that I loved, in a little town called Zibello, at a little restaurant called La Buca. I just remember thinking, It doesn’t get much better than this.

Do you have a favorite reality show?

I went to do a speaking gig in Poland, and the only thing in English on television was a series called Below Deck. It was on a 24-hour loop, so I watched about four hours of it. I was mostly impressed by how much they kept their act together when awful people came on and wanted their toenails buffed and things like that.

Which movie makes you cry?

The end of It’s a Wonderful Life, when he sees the card that says, “No man is a failure who has friends,” kills me. It’s a perfect film.

What’s your pet peeve or something that really drives you nuts?

Big things. Selfishness, lack of integrity, those are things that I dislike the most in mankind when I see it.

People might be surprised to know that you’re good at fixing things.

When you’re broke, you learn how to do things. I was selling men’s suits at this place called Nadler’s Men’s Stores in Cincinnati. You had to have suits. I couldn’t afford to buy many, so I would buy a cheaper suit, long, cut off the bottoms of the pants, and use the fabric to make ties, so I could go to work. I can fix a car, I can sew, and if you drop me on a desolate island…. I was on a motorcycle trip with a buddy, and he got hit by a car in the middle of nowhere in southern Italy. I went into the forest, and I got bamboo and I made a splint for his leg with a bungee cord. I’ve always been scrappy.

Are you more like a cat or a dog?

I would hope a dog, since I’m not a cat person. I don’t have anything against them. I like cat people. But I’ve always had dogs. I like the loyalty. Cats have no loyalty.

Tailor for George Clooney: Mari Margarian.

Style Director: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Codirector: Frank Lebon. Director of photography: André Chemetoff. Hair by Jawara for L’Oréal Professional at Art Partner; makeup by Lauren Parsons for Sisley Paris at Art Partner; manicure by Jolene Brodeur for Dazzle Dry at the Wall Group. Set design by David White at Streeters.