George Clooney Says He’s ‘Not Doing Romantic Films Anymore’ Because He’s Too Old

Actor George Clooney said he’s no longer interested in pursuing the leading role in any romantic comedies because he doesn’t want to be competing with much younger men for the parts.

The two-time Academy Award winner made the revelation during a recently aired interview with “60 Minutes.” Correspondent Jon Wertheim mentioned the actor’s “Sexiest Man of the Year phase” in the early 2000s, which Clooney agreed “was a big time for” him. But he says times have changed.

“Look, I’m 63 years old. I’m not trying to compete with 25-year-old leading men,” Clooney said. “That’s not my job. I’m not doing romantic films anymore.”

The actor is known for starring in various romantic comedies, including “One Fine Day” (1996) with Michelle Pfeiffer, and “Intolerable Cruelty” (2003) with Catherine Zeta-Jones. He also received a lot of attention for his role opposite Julia Roberts in “Ticket to Paradise” (2022) because it was the actress’s first romantic comedy in more than two decades. 

Clooney is currently promoting his new play, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” a stage adaptation based on his 2005 movie of the same name he co-wrote and starred in. This will be the actor’s first time on Broadway.

“Anybody who would deny [the draw of Broadway] would just be a liar,” the actor said during the “60 Minutes” interview. “There isn’t a single actor alive that wouldn’t have loved to have been on Broadway.”

“So that’s the fun of it. It’s trickier the older you get. But why not?” he added.

Clooney was recently criticized for another mention he made during the same interview when he doubled down on his decision to publicly advocate for former President Joe Biden ending his re-election campaign, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

“I was raised to tell the truth,” the longtime Democrat supporter said. “I had seen the president up close for this fundraiser, and I was surprised. And so I feel as if there was a lot of profiles in cowardice in my party through all of that. And I was not proud of that. And I also believed I had to tell the truth.”

President Trump weighed in on Clooney’s comments, calling him a “second rate movie actor.”

“He [Clooney] fought hard for Sleepy Joe’s election and then, right after the debate, dumped him like a dog,” Trump wrote in part on Truth Social.