George Clooney is done with on-screen romance. After Ticket to Paradise, the Hollywood icon says he’s moving on, making his Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck.
George Clooney is officially closing the chapter on on-screen romance. After delivering a decent global box office hit alongside Julia Roberts in 2022’s Ticket to Paradise, the 63-year-old Hollywood icon says it was his last romantic film, and he has no plans to return to the genre.
“It’s not my job anymore,” Clooney admitted while promoting his latest project, the Broadway adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck. During his 60 Minutes interview, the Roseanne star admitted that the early 2000s, when he was often crowned the “Sexiest Man Alive,” was a huge high point of his career. But as he said, that era is now behind him.
According to Variety, Clooney said, “Look, I’m 63 years old,” making it clear that he has no interest in “competing with 25-year-old leading men.” He added, “That’s not my job. I’m not doing romantic movies anymore.”
Over the years, George Clooney has starred in a number of romantic films, from One Fine Day (1996) with Michelle Pfeiffer to Intolerable Cruelty (2003) with Catherine Zeta-Jones. His 2022 hit film, Ticket to Paradise, which also stars his longtime friend Julia Roberts, was a rare return to the romance genre.
At the peak of his stardom in the 2000s, Clooney was one of Hollywood’s highest-grossing actors. His big break came with ER, an American medical drama that ran from 1994 to 2000, where his role as Dr. Doug Ross earned him multiple Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. Over the years, his films have grossed over $2.6 billion worldwide, averaging $61.7 million per film. According to his filmography, 13 of his films have crossed the $200 million mark at the global box office.
Interestingly, Julia Roberts also stayed away from romance films for two decades, telling The New York Times that she kept turning them down because of weak scripts. “It’s not that I didn’t want to do any movies,” she explained. “If there was something with the charm of Notting Hill or the fun of My Best Friend’s Wedding, I would have been down for it immediately. But there was nothing like it – until Ol Parker’s script came to me.”
George Clooney’s Broadway debut
In 2024, it was announced that George Clooney will make his Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck, a stage adaptation of his own Oscar-nominated 2005 film. Clooney co-wrote and directed the original film, but cast himself in a supporting role as producer Fred W. Friendly rather than the lead. But this time, he’s stepping into the spotlight as legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow. Joining him on stage is a star-studded cast including Broad City’s Ilana Glazer, Zero Day’s Clark Gregg and Barry actor Glenn Fleshler.
Speaking about why he felt the need to switch roles, Clooney told 60 Minutes, “I don’t know if I could have [done it before]. I didn’t do it – I didn’t do the work it took to get there,” he said. “I mean, there’s no actor who doesn’t love being on Broadway. So that’s it – that’s the fun of it.”
