Why George Clooney turned down $35m for an airline commercial: “We decided it’s not worth it”
There are many people who perhaps overestimate the amount of money that actors make. While it is an undeniably privileged career that can lead to great wealth, the state of filmmaking has changed, with some actors needing to subsidies their incomes with brand deals and adverts due to a lack of residual payments or substantial cuts from agents and managers. While it is a very comfortable problem to have, it is why we often see huge A-list actors starring in seemingly random commercials, with the likes of Ewan McGregor voicing an Expedia advert and Tina Fey becoming the face of Booking.com.
Many actors are able to star in independent films and sustain their careers through this type of work, with huge payouts and residual cheques that can pay the bills for many years. George Clooney was given a particularly tempting offer but eventually turned it down for reasons that more celebrities should concern themselves with.
George Clooney is one of the most celebrated leading men in Hollywood, with captivating performances in Gravity, Oceans Eleven, Burn After Reading, and Fantastic Mr Fox. The actor has also aligned himself with many political causes over the years and used his power to advocate for change not just in the film industry but around the world.
Because of this, the actor remains one of the few people to challenge the status quo and use his voice for causes that aren’t motivated by bettering his image, much like many other celebrities.
In the age of influencers and brand deals, there are many people in the public eye who sacrifice their values (or perhaps don’t have any values) in order to make a quick buck, promoting companies with problematic political leanings, production methods and policies. Many seem eager to turn a blind eye to the moral grey area that arises when supporting certain brands, treating their audiences like consumers instead of people and proving their detachment from the real world by failing to recognise the glaring issues with who they align themselves.
However, Clooney has a surprisingly refreshing take on the subject matter, revealing one job that he turned down after considering the political messaging behind him lending his image to support a particular airline. When discussing this, Clooney said, “I was offered $35m for one day’s work for an airline commercial. But I talked to Amal [Clooney, the international human rights lawyer he married in 2014] about it, and we decided it’s not worth it.”
Ultimately, Clooney said that they arrived at this conclusion after considering the fact that the airline was associated with “a country that, although it’s an ally, is questionable at times”. It is refreshing to see a celebrity who contains a bit of moral substance, not living with their head in the clouds and actively considering and weighing the moral implications of their work. While some celebrities would jump at any chance to earn this amount of money, it’s nice to see someone turn down an opportunity and preserve their moral integrity.
