The movie that saved George Clooney’s career: “If we fucked up, that was it”
There are some actors who are actors and some who are movie stars, and George Clooney has always been the latter. With a steely exterior and a contagious sense of charm, it wasn’t long before he found success in Hollywood and became the leading man of his generation. Whether it’s his voice work in Fantastic Mr Fox, the organised chaos of Ocean’s Eleven, or O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Clooney has cultivated an expansive body of work that showcases his talents across comedy, high-stakes thrillers, and sincere drama.
In recent years, he has become most celebrated for his work with Steven Soderberg, collaborating on the polarising adaptation of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris and the infamous heist series, defining his reputation as an icon of the genre.
However, while he is now an ingrained part of Hollywood and remains a lasting symbol of movie-style masculinity, the actor had a unique journey towards the top and found that one role, in particular, most impacted his career despite being one of the lesser-known projects in his filmography.
Like many actors who came before him, Clooney first found fame through his role as Doug Ross on the medical drama ER, slowly forging a career through parts in popular television series and cult classic soap dramas. But while many actors find their way into the industry through this type of work, with Margot Robbie similarly creating a name for herself through her work in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, Clooney knew that he didn’t want to remain on this side of the business forever, something that began to change in the late ‘90s.
In 1998, Clooney began his decades-long foray into the creative world of Steven Soderbergh, with the release of Out of Sight marking the start of this fruitful collaboration. Starring alongside Jennifer Lopez, the film follows a criminal called Jack Foley who plans to make one more heist, working with a federal marshal and discovering an unforeseen romance between them.
However, after years of middling in the world of hospital TV dramas, Clooney felt intense pressure to earn his reputation as a leading man and pave the way for a career on the silver screen. When describing the project, Clooney said, “At the time, we both knew we were getting our shot, and if we fucked it up, that was it. But while the movie didn’t make money, it was a creative success, and you can’t look at George in it and not go, ‘OK, that guy is a movie star.’”
While the film might not have been a blockbuster hit, his performance was enough to launch a stream of cinematic roles in films such as Thin Red Line, Burn After Reading and Michael Clayton. The business of breaking into Hollywood is famously unforgiving and slow, but Clooney’s journey just goes to show that the right role will present itself at the right time, and the most rewarding aspect of the industry comes from patiently waiting for your turn to shine.
