George Clooney says he learned valuable lessons about fame from his late aunt, singer and actress Rosemary Clooney, who achieved stardom at a young age.
The 64-year-old actor shared his reflections during a Q&A following a screening of his new film Jay Kelly at the New York Film Festival on September 30. Clooney discussed reaching fame in his mid-30s and how his aunt’s experiences shaped his perspective.
“My aunt Rosemary was very famous at 19,” Clooney said. “She was on the cover of Time and starred in White Christmas. But when rock and roll arrived, her career slowed, and she struggled for decades.”
Clooney said he learned from her challenges that fame is often more about circumstance than talent. “The lesson was to pay attention to how little this has to do with you,” he said. “It’s about the script, the director, the actors. When you’re young, you think you’re really smart, but you’re not.”
In Jay Kelly, Clooney plays a famous actor who rose to stardom young, contrasting with his own later fame. “I cut tobacco for a living for $3 an hour,” he said. “I got a different experience than my character. Fame at a young age is difficult.”
Clooney joked that had he become famous at 21, he might have made reckless choices. “It’s not designed for you to jump and have people older than you say, ‘How high?’ You really need some time on your legs,” he said.
Jay Kelly, directed by Noah Baumbach, stars Clooney alongside Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Billy Crudup. The film will be in select theaters on November 14 and stream on Netflix starting December 5.
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