Here is a list of the 33 Best Movies & Shows Of George Clooney that you just cannot miss. George Clooney enjoys retelling a well-known tale about a dog. He scheduled a meet-and-greet with a rescue dog in the early 2000s and was informed that the animal must adore him for the shelter not to take him back. Clooney covered himself in turkey bacon to boost his chances of success before meeting the dog since he was afraid the canine wouldn’t like him. This is a story that speaks volumes about Clooney, which is why it is frequently told—even in this magazine—to highlight his commitment to the audience, whether they are human or not.
Winner of two Oscars Despite having familial connections, George Clooney fought for years to break through as an actor before becoming one of the most successful people in his field. Clooney would try his hand at acting after quitting college. He battled for a while before landing a role on “E/R” in 1984. This was a short-lived sitcom with the same name, not the “ER” that would make him famous ten years later. Between those two programs, Clooney established a reputation for appearing in a staggering amount of pilots that were not picked up to become a series.
With recurring parts in “The Facts of Life,” “Sisters,” and “Roseanne,” he would achieve some fame. Still, he would also endure horrifying humiliations like appearing in “Return to Horror High” and “Return of the Killer Tomatoes.” When “ER” changed everything, Clooney’s chances of becoming a star were remote. For his work in movies, Clooney has quietly racked up an impressive number of Oscar nominations.
He has won two Oscars, one as a producer of “Argo,” the Best Picture of 2012, and one for Best Supporting Actor in “Syriana,” in which he appeared in 2005. He has won the Kennedy Center Honors, the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes.
1. The Monuments Men (2014)
Even the biggest movie stars occasionally cough up a celluloid hairball. It is the averages law. You might certainly argue that The Monuments Men is better made than Grade-Z garbage like George Clooney’s early flops Red Surf and Return of the Killer Tomatoes.
But the stark contrast between the film’s premise and its actualization is what makes this stinkbomb rank at the very bottom of this list. This could have been, and really should have been, something special with Clooney in charge of the camera and dynamic actors like Matt Damon, John Goodman, and Bill Murray in front of it.
Moreover, if not excellent, at least watchable. Unfortunately, it’s preachy and boring rather than either or both. The Monuments Men is a complete waste of a juicy chunk of history, its all-star cast, and a director who couldn’t even manage to make Nazis exciting. It is the true-ish story of a team of art historians deployed behind enemy lines during WWII to recover great artworks stolen by the Nazis.
2. Red Surf (1989)
With the help of drug money, a surfer and his gang in 1980s California enjoy life. His girlfriend is expecting a child, is traveling to Portland, Oregon, and will not be in a home with drugs or weapons. Can he get away from the gang, the drugs, and that last major deal?
Remar and Attila are two surfers who also work as heroin dealers. When their pal True Blue gets apprehended by the police, they attempt to arrange a final transaction with the local drug lord Calavera. In the police station, Blue talks excessively, while Calavera is seeking retribution for the betrayal.
When Red Surf was first released, it was sent “straight to video,” where it died a silent, anonymous death. Additionally, the caveat emptor label should have been included on the VHS packaging for most of these movies.
Exhibit A is this cheap imitation of Point Break that needed to be destroyed, its ashes spread, and the land salted so that nothing could ever grow there again. A pre-ER Clooney portrays a ponytailed, jet-skiing cocaine dealer out for one last score while facing off against lethal barrio thugs on both surf and turf.
3. Tomorrowland (2015)
Brad Bird, Damon Lindelof, and Jeff Jensen collaborated on the screenplay for the 2015 American science fiction movie Tomorrowland, which they also directed. Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, and Keegan-Michael Key are among the cast members.
George Clooney also appears. In the movie, a brilliant genius inventor who has lost hope and a young science enthusiast travel to an exciting parallel universe called “Tomorrowland,” where their decisions have an immediate impact on the real world.
Tomorrowland is yet another Clooney snoozer that might have been. It was a freakin’ Disney theme park adaptation! Towards the future! Years of hype. Directed by Brad Bird, the man behind The Incredibles.
A good-hearted Clooney performance is damned, and the inconsistent tale didn’t quite live up to what it could’ve been, even as the graphics were as breathtaking as a trip to Tomorrowland park itself. From this point forward, “It’s a Small World” must be adapted for a billion dollars or else.
4. Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988)
John De Bello directed the 1988 American parody film Return of the Killer Tomatoes! Anthony Starke, Karen Mistal, and John Astin are among the actors who appear in the first sequel to the 1978 movie Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
George Clooney also makes an early appearance. The movie has gained a cult following and is regarded as a classic. On our resumes, we all have jobs that make us feel bad. They are essentially the costs associated with continuing to operate, advance, and maintain the lights.
Here is a picture of Clooney. A community urgently fights to stave off an uprising of gigantic mutant vegetable-men—or are tomatoes fruit?—in this cheesy, smirking parody of ’50s Atomic Age films like The Blob.
It is a sequel to the kitschy cult cheapie Attack of the Killer Tomatoes from 1979. In any case, Clooney at least looks to be having fun with his period-appropriate mullet and half-smirk that lets you know he’s at least aware of how god-awful this disaster is.
5. Leatherheads (2008)
George Clooney and Universal Pictures’ 2008 release Leatherheads is an American sports comedy. The movie, which also features Jonathan Pryce, John Krasinski, and Renée Zellweger, is about the beginnings of professional American football.
The movie was made available on April 4, 2008. Critics gave it varying ratings, and the movie only made $41 million compared to its $58 million budget. I was hoping to enjoy this one. I genuinely did. Seriously.
How on earth could you do a blunder like this? A sports comedy about the early years of rough-and-tumble American football stars Clooney, Krasinski, Pryce, and Zellweger. The fourth quarter of a game in the pouring rain turned out to be just as messy for Leatherheads as it was for a lineman.
The box office failure of Leatherheads, which included a different genre every minute, means that we will never get the fantastic George Clooney basketball drama of our dreams.
6. Out of Sight (1998)
This Stephen Soderbergh drama, in which Jennifer Lopez also starred, was one of Clooney’s first critically appreciated pictures following his breakthrough performance on “ER.” Clooney breaks out of prison and kidnaps Lopez’s character, a U.S. Marshall.
The film received an Oscar nomination for its writing and editing and was based on a book by renowned novelist Elmore Leonard. The 1998 romantic crime comedy from Steven Soderbergh, which firmly established Clooney’s cooler-than-cool big-screen character, is the perfect combination of actor, director, and subject.
Clooney embodies the definition of charming ne’er-do-well charm as Jack Foley, a bank robber who is hunted down by Jennifer Lopez’s Karen Sisco, a U.S. Marshall, with who he finally becomes connected.
Soderbergh’s slick, jovial, color-coded masterpiece, which is an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s book, traverses a variety of genres with breathtaking flare thanks to an outstanding cast that includes Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn, Dennis Farina, and Albert Brooks.
Despite having such heavyweights on board, Clooney is the star of Out of Sight, his razor-sharp wit and ladies’ man charm igniting passionate sparks with Lopez and establishing him as the foremost matinee idol of the current period.
7. Michael Clayton (2007)
I’ve always thought that if George Clooney weren’t a well-liked Hollywood starring actor, he’d be doing something very similar to what Michael Clayton did in the 2007 film Michael Clayton. As a famous fixer who gets caught up in a terrible tale of corporate evil, Clooney gives one of the best performances of his career in the movie.
Because of Clooney’s incredibly realistic depiction of Clayton and the movie’s harsh, edgy tone, I had the impression that he might be the real George Clooney. This is Clooney at his most Clooney: a handsome middle-aged man wearing a dark suit and clean white dress shirt with an unrelenting ambition to win. The film also stars Tilda Swinton, Merritt Weaver, and Tom Wilkinson.
A guy who, even when he doesn’t, gives the impression that he is in control. You’ll want to see this movie again and again because Clayton manages to keep everything under control until the very end. It’s a fun, engaging viewing that will leave you wanting to see more of George.
8. Ocean’s Eleven Movies (2001, 2004, 2007)
For the first “Ocean’s 11,” about a group of thieves pulling off a Las Vegas robbery, Frank Sinatra gathered his cronies, the Rat Pack, including Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Clooney remade the story with the help of his friends, and the project led to several sequels, including the all-female version that was released last year. Clooney assumes the Sinatra persona of Danny Ocean, the gang leader and organizer in the movie.
After capturing that particular Clooney vibe in Out of Sight, Steven Soderbergh’s 2001 adaptation of the 1960 smashes blockbuster Ocean’s Eleven contributed to the actor’s Rat Pack-like big-screen character (as well as its ensuing two sequels). In the minds of moviegoers, Clooney will forever remain, in part, Danny Ocean, the preternaturally cool, collected, and humorous master thief who guides a band of thieves on complex Vegas heists distinguished by sky-high stakes in terms of both money and personal safety.
Despite being surrounded by actors like Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Andy Garcia, and Al Pacino, Clooney is nonetheless the center of attention because he is so effortlessly attractive and confident that it is impossible to imagine the trilogy taking place without him. Regardless of one’s taste for a particular series, Soderbergh’s glittery, glossy, high-flying Ocean movies are Hollywood extravaganzas done correctly and proof that few can match Clooney’s megawatt calm.
9. Three Kings (1999)
Clooney is one of four soldiers in this comedy set at the end of the Persian Gulf War who intend to steal gold back from Kuwait, but their mercenary intentions are changed when they realize how many people truly need their assistance.
Although both critics and viewers gave the movie high marks, the production was very chaotic. Conflict arose between Clooney and director David O. Russell on set after John Ridley claimed ownership of the story’s concept.
In response to the arguments, Clooney was fairly outspoken, saying: “There’s a part of David that was in far over his head… he was vulnerable and selfish, and it would present itself in a lot of yelling.”
In David O. Russell’s Three Kings, in which he co-stars with Mark Whalberg and Ice Cube as a US Army Special Forces officer who decides to steal gold bars that Saddam Hussein had previously stolen from Kuwait at the end of the Persian Gulf War, Clooney followed up his outstanding performance in Out of Sight.
Despite intense production conflicts between Clooney and his director (a common occurrence for a Russell film), the movie’s unique off-kilter blend of humor, action, and anti-war sentiment ultimately made it a critical and commercial success.
It reaffirmed Clooney’s ability to carry a significant Hollywood project. Clooney plays Major Archie Gates, whose motivation for the robbery is his dissatisfaction with the military war he is stuck in. Gates serves as both the project’s moral compass and its magnetic center of attention.
10. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
The Coen brothers’ adaptation of Homer’s ancient epic poem “The Odyssey” earned Clooney the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Clooney portrays a man who tries to flee from prison to make it home before his wife remarries him.
Clooney’s victory at the Golden Globes that year came as a bit of a surprise. Clooney’s work with the Coen Brothers continues to be best in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which also happens to be one of his most adored parts to date.
Clooney takes the lead in the movie as the dapper Ulysses Everett McGill, a prison escapee on the lookout for, you guessed it, treasure. Here, he strikes the ideal balance between some of his best work to date, fusing awkward comedy with the cool assurance of a likable con artist.
It embodies everything Clooney excels at. And it would be criminal to omit it from the top tier when you have the support of John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, and more.
11. The Good German (2006)
Steven Soderbergh’s The Good German pays adoring homage to Casablanca and other romantic wartime tales from the 1940s, but it ultimately lacks energy.
Clooney plays war correspondent Jake Geismer in the film, who travels to post-World War II Berlin to cover a momentous peace conference but finds himself caught up in a plot to ignite the Cold War that involves both Americans and Russians, including his ex-mistress.
In addition to paying homage to the cinematic era he picked, Soderbergh’s film confronts several themes head-on in a way that would not have been permitted by the Production Code.
But the film’s celebration-turned-deconstruction never accomplishes much with its deception, and Clooney’s performance, which is undermined by empty affectation, is no exception. He appears to be lost in a wonderfully drawn photocopy, just like everyone else.
12. The Peacemaker (1997)
George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Marcel Iureş, and Aleksandr Baluev star in Mimi Leder’s political action thriller The Peacemaker from 1997. It is DreamWorks Pictures’ debut feature.
Even though the plot takes place all over the world, most of the scenes were filmed in Slovakia, with a few others in Philadelphia and New York City. The only reason The Peacemaker is known at all is that it was the first movie released by DreamWorks Pictures, a small company at the time.
It was not a promising start. With Nicole Kidman as his co-star, Clooney portrays a dashing nuclear scientist in the Army Special Forces who is cool under pressure. Their goal was to cram as many espionage-flick clichés as they could into the 124-minute running duration of this blunder.
It doesn’t matter that they are trying to prevent terrorists from importing Soviet nukes. Apart from its A-list cast, filmmaker Mimi Leder’s big-budget, the big-fat so-what movie has novel ideas. Just a dull action movie Mad Libs.
13. Welcome to Collinwood (2002)
Not a George Clooney film, this. A big part of this movie is also a George Clooney movie. I’ll explain: Sam Rockwell, Luiz Guzman, Isaiah Washington, William H. Macy, Patricia Clarkson, and George Clooney appear in the heist comedy Welcome to Collinwood as safe-cracker Jerzy, a wheelchair-bound character.
In this humorous film, the characters—all lovable career criminals—seek to make a significant theft in the Cleveland suburb of Collinwood. Some of the funniest lines in the movie are said by Clooney.
It’s not a George Clooney movie, though, because he doesn’t have the most screen time. The 1958 Italian heist comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street, a parody of the 1955 Italian heist film Rififi, is remade as Welcome to Collinwood.
This kind of thing is right up Clooney’s alley. Clooney had appeared in Out of Sight, Ocean’s 11, Three Kings, and O Brother, Where Art Though? by 2002, the year Welcome to Collinwood was released. All of these have a distinct weird comedy bent and are stylish films by Brilliant Young Directors.
This is how Anthony and Joe Russo’s Welcome to Collinwood would be described. A decade later, they would go on to direct Marvel films like Avengers: Endgame. Therefore, the movie Welcome to Collinwood stars George Clooney.
14. The American (2010)
How else to explain George Clooney’s involvement in The American? He must be a fan of Jean-Pierre Melville’s fatalistic neo-noirs. The film by Anton Corbijn is a somber narrative about a contract killer who, after being forced to leave his situation, relocates to the Italian Alps and takes a new job while fending off chasing killers.
In this thriller with a European flair, Clooney is the sole American actor to appear, conveying the chilly, existential misery of earlier generations’ neo-noir antiheroes. The film’s methodical pacing threw off many who were hoping for a more action-packed adventure, yet its suspense is just as chilling as its sense of gloom and misery.
Clooney plays a man whose competence and restraint do little to bring him joy or success, and he is the isolated, melancholic center of Corbijn’s gorgeous genre film.
15. Batman & Robin (1997)
Fair enough, Clooney wasn’t to blame for the Batnipples, even though he has apologized for Batman & Robin numerous times over the years. The actual issue is that Clooney in Joel Schumacher’s infamously terrible Batman & Robin isn’t especially credible as either Bruce Wayne or Batman.
Whether he’s donning the cowl of the Dark Knight or gallivanting about Gotham as the playboy millionaire, Clooney is kind of simply Clooney. Superfans of DC would likely prefer that this film be significantly lower on the list. But it may be the only truly awful comedy in Clooney’s filmography. The history of superhero movies will never forget this.
Additionally, it demonstrates how forgiving Clooney can be, even in the face of some of his most heinous missteps. Because he’ll still be making excuses for the Batnipples in twenty years, this movie deserves to be rated higher than some of his less memorable efforts.
16. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Clooney portrays the title character, Mr. Fox, a family fox with a bit of a wild side, in Wes Anderson’s 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name. He needs to be a good, dependable husband and parent, but he can’t help making one more risky raid on the region’s filthiest farmers.
Fantastic Mr. Fox, director Wes Anderson’s first foray into animation, is a tremendously successful comedy that is suspenseful, clever, and heartwarming. Clooney anchors the film with an authentic, sincere performance as the titular character. He displays that he has a voice skill that is virtually unexplored, as this is one of just two voice-only roles in his whole career.
And don’t be fooled by the cartoon appearance; Mr. Fox is a complicated man who chastises his relationships with a rebellious bent. Clooney’s ability to play the part with both an emotive and humorous performance while hiding his Hollywood aristocracy face is a credit to his talent.
17. Syriana (2005)
In recognition of his work in this difficult movie on numerous facets of the oil industry, Clooney received the Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Golden Globe. Four distinct storylines make up the movie. Clooney performs the role of a CIA operative tasked with stopping illicit arms trade in the Middle East.
Clooney put on a lot of weight for the movie and also got hurt while filming, which had an impact on his health for a while after the movie was finished. Middle Eastern geopolitical thrillers aren’t exactly hard to find in Hollywood, but Stephen Gaghan’s effort merits a distinct place close to the top of the canon.
It is silent, cautious, and fearful as it investigates the covert business operations that govern the world’s oil supply, yet oddly the quieter it becomes, the louder it thumps. He discovered the ideal leading man in George Clooney, who gives one of the most profound performances of his career as the weary CIA agent Bob Barnes.
Although Clooney has one of the most well-known and expressive faces in Hollywood, he scales it back considerably in this scene, favoring glances and almost imperceptible expressions. By the time this movie came out, he had been an A-lister and a staple of the tabloids for years. Here, he discovered a way to reinvent himself as a brand-new, wholly alluring enigma.
18. Good Night and Good Luck (2005)
The second movie George Clooney has directed still his best effort as a producer. Before his career in show business took off, Clooney studied journalism, following in the footsteps of his father, an anchorman.
As he captures the ferocious intensity in the broadcast news standoff between Edward R. Murrow and Joseph McCarthy, his passion and respect for the craft are evident in every stark black-and-white scene of Good Night and Good Luck.
While David Strathairn’s cool and collected Murrow steals the show, Clooney makes a strong impression as renowned news producer Fred Friendly in the background. The movie continues to serve as a succinct lesson in watchdog journalism and the importance of keeping powerful people accountable—a task that feels even more important as we head into the 2020s.
Clooney made light of the fact that he didn’t win Best Director when he appeared on stage to claim his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2005. Clooney had a fantastic year this year.
He was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for this movie, in addition to winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Syriana.” The movie chronicles the conflict between Senator Joseph McCarthy during the infamous McCarthy trials and prominent CBS broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. In the movie, Clooney plays Fred Friendly, the head of CBS at the time, in a supporting role.
19. Up in the Air (2009)
For this movie, in which he plays a company executive frightened of commitment whose job it is to travel the nation and fire individuals, Clooney received his second nomination for Best Actor. He is pleased with his frequent flyer account balance.
Two new women that come into his life alter his existence. While Kendrick portrays a naive young coworker of Clooney who finds a method to fire people without even being present, Farmiga plays a prospective love interest.
Six Oscar nominations were made for the movie, including Best Picture. It was picked to win Best Adapted Screenplay, but “Precious” won instead. Jeff Bridges defeated Clooney to win the Best Actor award.
Come on. It’s no surprise that Clooney’s airborne workplace drama about a hire-to-fire HR employee ranks among his top 10 movies. His character, Ryan Bingham, travels the nation as a freelance worker in charge of informing employees of layoffs while being emotionally and materially detached.
It’s difficult to imagine the movie having the same impact if Clooney hadn’t starred in it. The movie digs headfirst into the pain of losing your career and the emotional load of communicating that news to others.
Clooney provides a human perspective on someone who is impossibly split between the want to have deeper meaningful connections and the resistance to being vulnerable by serving as a mentor to the idealistic, career-driven Anna Kendrick and a love interest for the overly cool Vera Farmiga.
20. The Ides of March (2011)
You can’t dismiss the acting talents of Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and of course, George Clooney, especially when the movie in question is a political thriller like The Ides of March.
When a young campaign employee he had an affair with got pregnant, had an abortion, and then committed suicide by taking a lethal quantity of pills in her hotel room, Clooney portrays a Democratic presidential primary contender who is just about to win the nomination.
A rush of secrets and lies are released by the tragedy, shaking the campaign, and it is left to Gosling’s underlying campaign manager to clear them up. The movie’s primary character, Stephen Meyers, played by Ryan Gosling, is played by Clooney as Senator Mike Morris, a man going through a personal and political crisis.
Clooney doesn’t miss a beat in a plot that twists the dagger into your gut with every new revelation, even though it’s difficult for anyone to compare to Hoffman’s caliber. Beau Willimon’s play served as the basis for Clooney’s screenplay, which he also directed.
Clooney has been politically engaged frequently, and in this role, he gets to exploit that by portraying the governor of Pennsylvania, who is also running for president. As Clooney’s idealistic young assistant, Ryan Gosling also stars. For the movie, Clooney received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
21. Money Monster (2016)
The script for Jodie Foster’s 2016 American crime thriller Money Monster was written by Jamie Linden, Alan Di Fiore, and Jim Kouf, based on a narrative by Di Fiore and Kauf. George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, and Giancarlo Esposito are among the movie’s notable cast members.
The show centers on financial television broadcaster Lee Gates and his producer Patty Fenn as they find themselves in a precarious predicament after an angry investor kidnaps them and their crew.
A nightmare from television news has come to life with Money Monster. It seems like such a nice idea on paper. Clooney leads the ensemble as Lee Gates, a flamboyant financial guru who offers advice on his cable show, in the Jodie Foster-directed film with Julia Roberts.
Naturally, things go wrong when a man follows his terrible counsel and loses his entire life savings before deciding to blow up the studio. Again, the idea is reasonably interesting, but the execution is, to put it mildly, questionable.
The unfortunate thing about having Clooney and Roberts in charge is that they don’t know how to make the most of their talents; they’re both doing the best job they can with what they have.
22. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
American romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty was released in 2003. It was directed and co-written by Joel and Ethan Coen, and it was also co-produced by Brian Grazer and the Coens. Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone, Ethan, and Joel Coen wrote the screenplay, with the latter authoring the final draft.
Billy Bob Thornton, Geoffrey Rush, Edward Herrmann, Paul Adelstein, Richard Jenkins, and Catherine Zeta-Jones are among the actors who appear in the movie. For his second collaboration with Joel and Ethan Coen, Clooney took on the role of a powerful divorce lawyer whose abilities are tested as he contends with Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character, who plays the soon-to-be ex-wife of his most recent client.
The Coens’ film blends the goofy and the bleak to winning effect, thanks in large part to Clooney and Zeta-Jones’ chemistry as a pair of cutthroat sharks whose predatory impulses are complicated by their budding amorous feelings for each other.
The film is a sharp romantic comedy about marital warfare in a time of pre-nuptial agreements. Intolerable Cruelty is the kind of quirky A-list screwball production that they all-too-rarely make anymore, bolstering Clooney’s Old Hollywood credentials in a character that, in a previous era, might have been played by Cary Grant.
A 2009 British-American satirical black comedic war film starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey, The Men Who Stare at Goats was directed by Grant Heslov and scripted by Peter Straughan.
Smokehouse Pictures, a production company founded by Clooney and Heslov, produced it. The movie is based on Jon Ronson’s 2004 book of the same name, which explores attempts by the US military to utilize psychic skills as a weapon.
It is also a companion piece to the British miniseries Crazy Rulers of the World. The Men Who Stare at Goats, which is directed by Clooney’s longtime writing and producing partner Grant Heslov, is a war satire that enjoys the bizarre, much like Three Kings and his Hulu TV adaptation of Catch-22.
An adaptation of the same-titled book by Jon Ronson, it follows a journalist who visits Kuwait and receives a shocking tip from a former special forces officer who allegedly took part in a clandestine US army program to give soldiers psychic abilities.
The ensuing drama is full of unexpected turns, and Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Robert Patrick, Stephen Lang, and Nick Offerman all make notable supporting appearances.
The highlight of this ridiculous endeavor, though, is Clooney’s gamely, wacky portrayal, which once again demonstrates that he is more than at ease portraying the obsessively devoted fool.
24. The Midnight Sky (2020)
George Clooney’s 2020 American science fiction film The Midnight Sky is based on Lily Brooks-2016 Dalton’s book Good Morning, Midnight. Mark L. Smith was the author of the script.
In his movie, Clooney plays a starring role as an elderly scientist who must cross the icy Arctic Circle to warn off a returning interplanetary spaceship after a catastrophic event on earth. Along with Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, Caoilinn Springall, Tiffany Boone, David Oyelowo, and Demián Bichir also star.
George Clooney’s Augustine is alone on a dying Earth and must warn a bunch of astronauts not to return home, sort of the opposite of Matt Damon’s The Martian. The post-apocalyptic ideas are tastefully balanced by Clooney’s effective direction in this case.
I like his performance, too. His arrogant attitude hides very deep grief. The issue may lie more with the film’s shallow sci-fi drama source material, which falls short of many recent modern masterpieces.
25. One Fine Day (1996)
Given his fame as a sex icon, Clooney has appeared in very few romantic comedies throughout his filmography. With this movie, he did try out the genre, playing a divorcee with young children with Michelle Pfeiffer.
The two characters meet and fall in love over one day in the movie, despite numerous distractions. Neil Simon’s daughter Ellen Simon, who co-wrote the screenplay, is a playwright. What ought to have been an homage to Tracy and Hepburn—or at least Hanks and Ryan—becomes a lifeless rom-com.
At the time, it undoubtedly seemed quite current to center a meet-cute confection around cell phone use. However, when watched today, One Fine Day shows Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer simply flailing and flirting incoherently as a divorced father and a single mother in fast-paced New York City.
Especially in the aftermath of the smash hit Sleepless in Seattle, I’m sure this all sounded like a slam dunk in the pitch meeting. Unfortunately, this one won’t leave you wide awake. Before the closing titles even start to roll, you’ll be dead.
26. The Perfect Storm (2000)
The movie “The Perfect Storm,” which is based on the best-selling book of the same name, stars George Clooney as one of several professional fishermen who are stuck on their boat during a “perfect storm,” or when all the elements come together to produce the worst sea conditions imaginable.
Two Oscar nominations were given to the movie for its sound and visual effects. Clooney and Mark Wahlberg star in this blockbuster adaptation of Sebastian Junger’s best-selling novel about a New England fishing boat that becomes stuck in one of the most violent nor’easters of the 20th century after their reunion in the critically acclaimed Three Kings.
The towering-wave special effects are more evidence that Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen is an expert at seafaring disaster epics, and Mother Nature’s fury gets a prehistoric workout here.
On board, the fatal Andrea Gail, Clooney, and Wahlberg do their best to express bravery—and its counterpart fears—but their salty personalities wind up being secondary to the movie’s shock-and-awe moments as the boat is tossed around like a bath toy.
27. Gravity (2013)
Gravity is one of the few films where George Clooney’s star power does not define it as a Clooney production. This is unquestionably a Sandra Bullock movie. However, the fact that Clooney’s part in Alfonso Cuaron’s space disaster is so different from his usual work is what makes it remarkable.
Out of the spotlight, Bullock’s gregarious, seasoned astronaut Lt. Matt Kowalski is an endearing counterpoint to her somber Dr. Ryan Stone. But what makes Clooney’s brief appearance in the movie so powerful is how little of him there is.
Although Lt. Kowalski’s friendly approach might have been irritating at first, it ultimately proves to be the factor that saves Dr. Stone’s life. Sandra Bullock dominates “Gravity” for the most part.
However, George Clooney does make an early cameo as another astronaut who, to paraphrase Tina Fey at the Golden Globes in the same year, “would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a lady his age.”
Clooney, the other astronaut, has a significant impact as he gives up his life so that Bullock might have a chance to save hers. Ten Oscars were nominated for the movie, and seven were awarded.
28. The Descendants (2011)
This is a constrained, exposed side of Clooney that we rarely get to witness. The Descendants, which slows down to allow for introspection and emotional depth, is possibly George Clooney’s best work—aside from Up in the Air.
In the Alexander Payne movie, Clooney plays a parent who must choose between two impossibly difficult options.
On the one hand, he is the sole trustee of a family’s Hawaiian property. Even though he first wishes to retrain its legacy, his family urges him to sell. All of this changes, however, when his wife Elizabeth is involved in a boating accident and goes into an irreparable coma.
Even worse, after the incident, he finds out about her affair. The movie is filled with intricacy and drama, yet Clooney handles it all with ease, constantly giving emotional weight to the material that might have been overlooked by a less accomplished actor.
For his role as a wealthy landowner in Hawaii in this movie, Clooney received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. The protagonist is coping with family troubles and pressure to sell the family land that he owns.
After a boating accident that left his wife unconscious, Clooney is left to care for his two difficult daughters. Clooney was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for the movie, but Jean Dujardin won it for “The Artist.”
29. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Chuck Barris, played by Sam Rockwell, was an undercover CIA hitman in addition to being a game show producer and host of the iconic “The Gong Show,” according to the movie based on Barris’ memoirs.
The veracity of the entire CIA link may just be Barris’ final public trick since he was renowned for making up stories and making fun of the general public. In addition to starring in the movie as the CIA agent who gives Barris his tasks, Clooney also directed it.
I recall being a little stunned when I first saw Clooney’s directorial debut about the shady, purportedly secret life of Gong Show buffoon Chuck Barris. Even the detractors were. Despite its pretzel-like, satirical Charlie Kaufman screenplay, I recently gave it another look and found it to be a few notches below par.
Sam Rockwell proves why he’s one of Hollywood’s best-supporting actors as the movie’s protagonist—a little of him goes a long way. Moreover, you never really get a glimpse into Barris’ mind.
Clooney, Barris’ government contact who enlists the improbable celebrity in the worldwide assassination game, is a distractingly uninteresting cipher in the meantime. The biggest reason to watch Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, in my opinion, is Julia Roberts’s out-of-character performance as a seductively cold-blooded Mata Hari.
30. Burn After Reading (2008)
In this Coen brothers’ picture about a disc holding information from the CIA and the two dimwitted gym staff who find it and try to earn money from it, Clooney joined an excellent cast. Clooney portrays a U.S. Marshall who dates a gym employee.
The film was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Comedy, or Musical. Clooney plays Harry Pfeffer, a married womanizer looking for love online, in his third film with the Coens.
Harry develops a strong attraction to Linda, a goofy gym staffer who discovers a lost disc holding the explosive memoirs of Osborne Cox, a CIA operative angry about being fired from the organization. Cox is wed to Katie, another of Harry’s love interests, in a characteristically Coen ouroboros of character sketching.
The Coen brothers said that Burn After Reading, which starred Clooney and came after Intolerable Cruelty and O Brother Where Art Thou, concluded their “idiot trio.” One of the finest aspects of this screwball comedy is Clooney, who plays a man with little intelligence but lots of charisma.
31. Solaris (2002)
The 2002 American science fiction drama movie Solaris, starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone, was written and directed by Steven Soderbergh. James Cameron and Jon Landau made it. It is based on Polish author Stanislaw Lem’s science fiction book of the same name from 1961.
For the 2002 film Solaris, Clooney collaborated once more with director Steven Soderbergh; the adaptation of Stanislaw Lem’s 1961 novel was very different in tone from the pair’s earlier successes, which focused on crime.
Although its rather dismal box-office success isn’t indicative of its quality, that aesthetic shift of direction was one of the reasons it mostly failed to connect with moviegoers upon its theatrical debut.
Clooney and Soderbergh’s third collaboration is a haunting meditation on loss, love, grief, and the complex relationship between our memories and the truth.
It tells the tale of a clinical psychologist who travels to a space station where he discovers that memories of his deceased wife have brought her back to life. It has what is undoubtedly Clooney’s most soulful performance, and it is still the movie in his catalog that begs to be rediscovered.
32. Hail Caesar! (2016)
The Coen brothers’ 2016 period mystery musical black comedy film Hail, Caesar! was written, produced, edited, and directed by them. Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Channing Tatum are among the cast members of this joint American-British-Japanese production.
Michael Gambon plays the narrator. The fictional tale centers on real-life fixer Eddie Mannix, who was working in the 1950s Hollywood film industry and trying to figure out what had happened to a star actor while they were filming a biblical epic.
Hollywood is known for sending itself love letters. The Coen Brothers, however, differ from the majority of Hollywood. They have certainly returned, but each time, they bring a large gallon of kerosene. Barton Fink 1991 nearly set the town on fire. Here, they situate themselves in the decade following the spectacular failure of that storyline to parody the studio system of the 1950s’ faux religiosity.
Clooney was an easy choice for the role of studio-supported star Baird Whitlock due to both his real-life background and flair for glamour. He surprises me, though, because many of Hollywood’s most attractive men would be afraid to play the part’s required idiot. Clooney not. He’s almost vertigo-inducing.
33. The Thin Red Line (1998)
The Thin Red Line is a 1998 American epic war movie that Terrence Malick both wrote and directed. Following the 1964 film, it is the second movie adaptation of James Jones’ 1962 novel of the same name.
Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, and Ben Chaplin portray American soldiers from C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division in this fictionalized account of the Battle of Mount Austen, which took place during the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
The poem “Tommy” from Barrack-Room Ballads has a phrase by Rudyard Kipling that relates to the 93rd Regiment’s heroic stand at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. Kipling refers to British foot soldiers as “the thin red line of heroes” in the poem.
The Thin Red Line is a classic from a filmmaker with a long history of creating masterpieces, but Clooney is hardly present. With the Battle of Guadalcanal as its backdrop, Terrence Malick’s transcendental meditation on why people fight wars star a rotating cast of A-list actors, including Sean Penn, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Woody Harrelson, and John Travolta.
At the film’s conclusion, Clooney appears as Captain Bosche, a new leader appointed to the squadron that had been annihilated earlier. Clooney plays a blink-and-you-miss-it role that lasts less than two minutes with grit and no-nonsense charm. He’s only here for a little while to have fun.
