Widely known as one of the world’s most eligible bachelors and a constant fixture in those “Sexiest man” polls, George Clooney is quite clear that, in matters of love, he has just the same problems as we do.“I’ve had some absolutely great relationships and some not so great ones,” the 48-year-old actor tells the UK’s Daily Mirror. “But just because you’re with someone doesn’t mean you’re happy and complete,” he opines.
Briefly married to actress Talia Balsam, George’s past cast-list of love includes actresses Renee Zellweger, Kelly Preston, DeDee Pfeiffer and Kimberly Russell, plus models Lisa Snowdon and Celine Balitran. His current co-star is Italian TV hostess, Elisabetta Canalis [seen here,] on whom we’ve reported before.
With such a range of past loves, George is now what some call a playboy. An image at which he’s happy to poke fun, “I’m old,” he says with a laugh. “But I’m okay with that because the other option is being dead. So I’ll take getting older.”
And love is not the only thing George does on a grand scale – He’s currently in London for no less than three premieres; The new romantic-comedy, ‘Up In The Air’, the evergreen children’s favorite, ‘The Fantastic Mr Fox’ and a CIA satire entitled, ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats.’ But as you’d expect, George is largely unmoved, “All three are films I don’t have to be embarrassed about – and that’s rare!” he confesses.
Between all the filming, George now relaxes at his Italian hideaway on the glorious Lake Como, “Some of the most fun dinners I’ve ever had have been there. There’s always 10 or 15 people and we have fun evenings, filled with interesting stories. It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done for myself.” he recalls.
Apart from great acting and mansions, George has a rep for elaborate pranks. His last score was Matt Damon. Matt stayed with George during last Summer, eagerly trying to lose the weight from his role in “The Informant’ But despite a strict diet, his pants never fit?? What Matt didn’t know was that George had hired a seamstress to shrink the waistbands on all of Matt’s pants by 1/8th-of-an-inch every day, “He couldn’t understand how he seemed to be gaining weight while he was trying so hard to lose it,” grins George.
Few would argue that George has conquered quite a few rungs of success’s long ladder since leaving his home in Kentucky at just 21 to try and make it in Hollywood. Ten years of failure and washed-out pilots later, he landed ER. An Oscar soon followed, and that made him big.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do a few films that will last longer than opening weekend, and those are the ones of which I’m proud,” he says, modestly.
But with all his clout and fan status, George knows he has to still please the bosses, “I’m in the lucky position of them still letting me play with the toys…but I don’t know how long that will last,” he admits. “So while they’re letting me, I’m going to keep trying to do movies and hope that some of them succeed.”
