For George Clooney, being a father is the most important thing in his life, above awards, fame, and his directing career.
The star, who shares nine-year-old twins Alexander and Ella with his wife, Amal Clooney, opened up about the sacrifices he made to spend more time with his young family.
Stepping back from the spotlight
© AFP via Getty Images"The only reason I'm not directing, which I love doing, is because I had two nine-year-old kids and [I want] to spend time with them," he told a reporter at the Venice Film Festival, where he is set to receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
"If I act in a movie, it's three months, and I can go and come and go and come back. When you direct a movie, it's a year wherever you are, and there's no traveling back and forth. So I can't do that anymore," George explained.
© Getty Images"The last thing I did was this play last year on Broadway, and that took us all away for a period of time. I can't really pull the kids out of school anymore. So I'm really happy doing this. It's fun to be an actor. I'm enjoying it, actually."
George's directing career
George's directing credits are no small feat; arguably his most famous work is Good Night, and Good Luck in 2005, for which he was nominated in the Best Achievement in Directing category at the Oscars.
Learn more about George and Amal's sweet love story below...
He also directed The Ides of March in 2011, Catch-22 in 2019, and more recently, The Boys in the Boat in 2023. George shared at the press conference that he had both good and bad experiences as a director.
"I've been nominated for an Oscar, and I've also had really bad experiences, and that's okay," he said. "That's part of me telling stories. People will agree and disagree."
"I've done films that people hated when they came out, and now they like them. I've done films that people liked that now they look at it and they don't work anymore. Timing is a lot of that."
Family life in France
George and Amal have been raising their twins on an estate near Brignoles, France, far away from the public eye. The pair have both spoken extensively about maintaining privacy for their children, a feat which is more manageable in France.
© Getty Images"I was worried about raising our kids in LA, in the culture of Hollywood," George told Esquire in 2025.
"I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France – they kind of don't give a [expletive] about fame. I don't want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don't want them being compared to somebody else's famous kids."
© AFP via Getty ImagesHe added that while he grew up on an isolated farm and "hated the whole idea of it", he could see how it was beneficial for the twins.
"They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life."
