From baseball wannabe in Kentucky to one of Hollywood's most highly rated leading men, George Clooney's story is that of a late bloomer. After years as a struggling TV actor, he rose slowly to public attention with small, but potent, roles in TV shows like The Facts of Life and Roseanne, before landing the breakthrough role of Dr Doug Ross on the hit TV medical drama, ER. His roles in Hollywood films went hand in hand with ER's incredible success, as Clooney branched out and started working with respected film directors, such as Steven Soderbergh and the Coen Brothers. After leaving ER 1999, he has starred in a run of box office hits, including the Ocean's Eleven remake, and its two subsequent sequels, Burn After Reading, Up in the Air, The American and The Descendents. Famed for his mysterious private life, unshakeable bachelorhood (the result of a failed marriage to actress Talia Balsam before he made it big) and fondness for partying, Clooney has carved out a unique place in Hollywood. He is simultaneously respected for these talents as an actor, producer, writer and director, and worshipped as a sex symbol.

Table of Contents

Introduction; The Early Year; The Fact of Life; Out of Sight; The ER Years; Working From Dusk Till Dawn; Ladies and Gentlemen, George Clooney, Film Actor; The Director's Chair; Renaissance Man; The Fantastic Mr Clooney; Recent Glory.

Author Biography

Nick Johnstone is the author of biographies of Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, George Clooney and Ryan Gosling, and as a journalist, has interviewed many film personalities including Roman Polanski, Darren Aronofsky, Jim Jarmusch, Helen Hunt, Werner Herzog and Ethan Hawke.