Hollywood legend George Clooney has announced that he will be taking a step back from acting after admitting that it is no longer a priority for him.
Clooney, who was last seen in 2016 film Money Monster, told The Sunday Times: “Look, I acted for a long time and, you know, I’m 56. I’m not the guy that gets the girl anymore,” before adding that he “shouldn’t be the guy that gets the girl.”
However, there is one particular role he’d return to the big screen for. “If somebody’s got Paul Newman in The Verdict, I’d jump,” the father of two added. “But there aren’t that many like that.”
He continued: “Acting used to be how I paid the rent, but I sold a tequila company for a billion f***ing dollars. I don’t need money.”
Fair play – who can argue with that?
This isn’t the first time the Suburbicon director has opened up about his retirement plans. Speaking to the BBC back in 2016, Clooney explained that he didn’t want his devoted fans to see him grow old. He said: “I think nobody really wants to see anybody really age.”
We love you at any age, George.
He explained: “You know, it’s a very unforgiving thing, the camera is, and so ageing becomes something that you know, you try to do less and less onscreen. You try to pick the films that work best for you and as you age they become less and less.”
Talking about his desire to focus on directing instead, George said: “As you age on screen you get to that point where you really understand that, you know, you can’t stay in front of the camera your whole life. And so It’s much more fun, and it’s infinitely more creative, to be directing.”
What now apart from directing? A foray into politics, perhaps? Surely there’s no doubt Amal would make a perfect First lady. There’s just one tiny detail: he doesn’t actually want to be a politician.
“So many people since Trump was elected have really been pushing on me to get more involved in actual politics, specifically at the highest office,” he said, before admitting that, “I don’t have political aspirations.”
