George Clooney Credits French Upbringing for Children’s ‘Much Better Life’
LOS ANGELES – George Clooney has revealed his children are enjoying a more grounded upbringing in France than they would have experienced in Los Angeles,citing a desire to shield them from the pervasive culture of celebrity. The actor, currently promoting Noah Baumbach’s film Jay Kelly, discussed the decision in a recent interview with Esquire, alongside reflections on his career and past experiences.
Clooney and his wife,international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney,have twins Ella and Alexander,born in 2017.Amal’s work, which has included prosecuting leaders of ISIS and Hezbollah, has at times drawn political scrutiny, including a proposed sanction from the Trump management targeting officials at the International Criminal Court – naming Khan in its annex, promising to “impose tangible and meaningful consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members.”
Speaking to Anderson Cooper earlier this year, Clooney defended his wife’s work, stating, “My wife spent two years in a bunker trying Hezbollah. She’s the only person to put isis on trial. She’s the bravest person I’ve ever met. We have other issues besides just worrying about an American administration saying unkind things about us.”
The actor also discussed the challenges of returning to the stage in a 2025 Broadway production of good Night, and Good luck, admitting to pre-performance anxiety. “As you get older, it doesn’t matter how many granola bars you eat; your brain starts to lock up,” he said. “I had all these long monologues, and I was afraid of blowing my lines. So every single night for 100 performances, I would do the whole play in the dressing room before I went onstage.I was so terrified.”
Clooney’s latest film,Jay Kelly,prompted introspection about his own life and career. He acknowledged past periods of heavy drinking – “runs where I’d get pretty toasty every night” – and admitted to experimenting with cocaine in the early 1980s, noting, “At the time, it was like, ‘No, this is not like heroin. it’s not addictive.’ But than it was like, ‘Oh, well, it’s actually pretty fucking bad.’ Plus, it was all cut with mannitol.The baby laxative. Everybody would do a line and then take a shit.”
A recent film viewing with Amal – Animal House – also sparked reflection, with Clooney remarking on the film’s now-dated and problematic content. “She said: ‘Well, let’s watch it.’ I go, ‘I don’t know if it’s going to hold up.’ Like, the frist scene, a 13-year-old girl passes out and the devil pops up on the guy’s shoulder and says, ‘Fuck her brains out!’ And my wife’s looking at me like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, this is terrible!'”
