Why George Clooney ‘turned down $35 million for one day’s work’

The Hollywood star said the offer was for him to star in an airline commercial but that, after speaking to his wife, human rights lawyer Amal, he had decided against it.

He told the Guardian: “I was offered 35 million dollars for one day’s work for an airline commercial, but I talked to Amal about it and we decided it’s not worth it.

“It was (associated with) a country that, although it’s an ally, is questionable at times, and so I thought ‘Well, if it takes a minute’s sleep away from me, it’s not worth it’.”

Clooney, who celebrated his 60th birthday in May, married Amal in 2014 and they have two children, twins Ella and Alexander, born in June 2017.

Speaking about childcare, he said they only have a nanny “four days a week”, as “it’s so important to Amal (to be involved)”.

He told the newspaper: “And during lockdown it was just us – for a full year! I felt like my mother in 1964 – doing dishes and six loads of laundry a day.”

The Clooneys were guests at the star-studded wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2018 and were given VIP seats in the Quire of St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

The actor has directed The Tender Bar, a coming-of-age film based on a book of the same name by JR Moehringer, which tells the story of a boy who seeks father figures at a bar run by his uncle.

The movie, released this month, is set in New York and stars Ben Affleck as bar owner Charlie, with Tye Sheridan playiing his nephew J.R.

It had its UK premiere in October at the London Film Festival, where Clooney said it had given him a welcome break from the “pretty dark” types of movie he normally works on.

“Most of the films I do are pretty dark and this one felt light, and it felt like the world was pretty dark so I wanted to work on something that was a little lighter, you know,” he said.