George Clooney Says His Days as a Hollywood Heartthrob Are Over

At 64, George Clooney has openly admitted that his era as a Hollywood heartthrob has come to an end. After discussing the topic with his wife, Amal Clooney, the actor has decided that he will no longer kiss women on screen.

The romantic comedy star, who has previously appeared alongside Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones, explained that age has become a natural barrier to taking on such roles. Speaking to Daily Mail, Clooney said he is now trying to follow the path of another legendary actor.

“I’m trying to follow in Paul Newman’s footsteps,” Clooney shared, hinting at a more mature and selective approach to his career.

George and Amal Clooney have been together since 2014 and are raising their eight-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander. The actor noted that despite his age, he remains in good physical shape.

“When I turned 60, I talked to my wife,” Clooney recalled. “I said, ‘Listen, I can still play basketball with the kids. I can compete with 25-year-olds.’ But in 25 years, I’ll be 85. And no amount of granola bars is going to change that fact.”

Clooney also shared a humorous memory from the early days of his career, when a director once criticized the way he kissed a co-star during a scene.

“I remember I was supposed to kiss a woman in a scene, and the director said, ‘That’s not it.’ And I replied, ‘Buddy, these are my real moves,’” the actor joked.

Now older, more experienced, and financially independent, Clooney says he has the freedom to be far more selective about his projects than he was at the beginning of his career, when he felt he had “almost no control” over his choices.

Despite his Hollywood star status, Clooney and his family have moved from Los Angeles to a farm in France. He believes the change will provide a much healthier environment for his children, away from constant public attention.

“I worried about how our kids would grow up in Los Angeles, surrounded by Hollywood culture,” Clooney explained. “I felt they would never be given a fair chance. In France, the culture is completely different. People aren’t interested in fame. I don’t want my children to be known as ‘someone’s famous kids.’”