Nicole Moschella
George Clooney fans may have noticed that the actor has not appeared in a film since 2016, and apparently he has a reason for that.
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In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Clooney opened up about his decision to step out of the spotlight and get into the director’s chair.
“Look, I acted for a long time and, you know, I’m 56. I’m not the guy that gets the girl anymore,” he said adding that he thought he “shouldn’t be the guy that gets the girl.”
He continued, “But, look, if somebody’s got Paul Newman in ‘The Verdict,’ I’d jump. But there aren’t that many like that. Acting used to be how I paid the rent, but I sold a tequila company for a billion f**king dollars. I don’t need money.”
Clooney and his business partners Rande Gerber and Mike Meldeman sold their tequila company Casamigos for $1 billion in June.
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“I have money,” Clooney said. “So I can fight to make movies I want to make. If you look at what I’ve been in over the past 15 years, for the most part they weren’t going to get made if I didn’t do them.”
In October, Clooney was forced to defend himself after a former “ER” actress, Vanessa Marquez, accused him of “blacklisting” her after she spoke out against harassment in Hollywood.
“I had no idea Vanessa was blacklisted,” Clooney said. “I take her at her word. I was not a writer or a producer or a director on that show. I had nothing to do with casting. I was an actor and only an actor. If she was told I was involved in any decision about her career, then she was lied to. The fact that I couldn’t affect her career is only surpassed by the fact that I wouldn’t.”
Off-set, the 56-year-old actor is busy at home with his twin babies, Ella and Alexander, whom he welcomed with wife Amal Clooney in June.
