George Clooney compares his new role in ‘Jay Kelly’ to Frankenstein: “He doesn’t mean to harm anybody”
George Clooney has revealed his feelings towards his character Jay Kelly in the upcoming Netflix film of the same name, saying, “He’s a bit like Frankenstein”.
The iconic Hollywood actor was speaking in a new interview with JoBlo ahead of the film hitting the screen in the coming weeks, where he reflects on playing the close-to-home role of an ageing movie star.
Reflecting on his character’s faults, Clooney said Kelly is “a bit like Frankenstein,” before adding: “Well, he thinks he’s a good man. He doesn’t mean to harm anybody, but he throws a little girl in the river because he wants her to swim.”
He added, “Jay Kelly isn’t one person. It’s a cottage industry with all these other people around, and bit by bit they’re coming to terms with the idea that their whole lives have revolved around this one individual. He thought that was a natural gravitational pull, and as people slowly disappear, suddenly you’re looking back in your life and you have this moment of going ‘what was this all about?’.”
The film, which is directed by Noah Baumbach and sees Clooney star opposite Adam Sandler and Laura Dern, charts a transformative period in Kelly’s life as he travels Europe and reflects on his past and present.
In this spirit, Clooney has also been getting in this mood before the film is released, revealing that he lost out on a role in Thelma and Louise to Brad Pitt.
He admitted to The Times: “I didn’t watch Thelma and Louise for years because I was annoyed. The part launched his career in film. He was doing sitcoms and crap before, so when it was the thing that could’ve launched me? Fuck!”
Commenting on his joking rivalry with Pitt over the part, Clooney added, “Oh yeah, he gives me shit. But, of course, when I saw it, I was, like, well, it had to be that guy.”
Jay Kelly is set to be released on Netflix globally from December 5th, 2025.
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