George Clooney slams celebrity divas, says Kentucky roots keep him grounded

George Clooney He calls out celebrities who act like divas in the group.

During a recent interview with usa today, The 64-year-old actor mocked stars who make extravagant and sometimes surprising demands on their riders – a set of requirements that artists make in order to perform.

While speaking with the outlet, Clooney recalled a humorous misunderstanding he had with a production employee regarding his contestant.

“I remember I was in New York and the driver was charging at me. I was like, ‘What’s going on, dude?’ He said, ‘Look, George, I’ve been looking all over the place for Fuji apples. I can’t find them anywhere.’ Someone asked me at one point, ‘Do I want to eat anything in my trailer?’ And I said maybe some apples. They’re like, ‘What kind in particular?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, Fuji?'” He said, “Because it was the only thing I could think of.”

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“And suddenly your passenger is missing,” Clooney continued. “Everywhere you go, people are climbing mountains looking for Fuji apples for you. I had to go and say, ‘Take this out. “You’re crazy.”

George Clooney has poked fun at the demands of famous divas while crediting his Kentucky roots with keeping him humble. (John Shearer/Film Magic)

“A little bit of that happens by accident with people trying to make everything nice. There are some actors who literally say ‘I only eat the green M&M’s kind of bull—. I grew up in Kentucky — we try to stay away from trailers,” he joked. “This is not the end, be all, [me] In a double show on the set.”

Over the course of his decades-long career, twice Oscar winner He credits his Kentucky roots with helping him stay humble in Hollywood.

Clooney was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the son of television journalist Nick Clooney and former beauty queen Nina Bruce Warren. Clooney previously stated that he and his brothers spent their summers earning modest wages while working on their grandparents’ tobacco farm in rural Kentucky.

“I was a tobacco farmer,” Clooney said. “I was cutting tobacco for $3.30 an hour, which was fine.” Vanity Fair in 2023. “That’s how you made your living. We had no money, but no one did. No one thought we were poor. We were all just going about our day.”

During a joint appearance on GQ’s “Epic Conversations” series with co-star Jay Kelly. Adam SandlerClooney noted that cutting tobacco was a way to make money “when I was about 13 to 18 years old.”

While talking to Tennessee In 2019, Clooney recalled his childhood in the small town of Augusta, Kentucky, which at the time had a population of about 1,100 people. Clooney explained his humble upbringing, saying he used to wear clothes his mother made for him.

In addition to cutting tobacco, Clooney said he sold insurance door-to-door and worked in a liquor store.

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After graduating from high school, Clooney attended college at Northern Kentucky University from 1979 to 1981 and briefly attended the University of Cincinnati before dropping out to begin his acting career.

Clooney said he earned $3.30 an hour while working on a tobacco farm when he was growing up. (Roden Eckenroth/Getty)

The “Ocean’s Eleven” star stated that he first discovered his passion for acting when he was his cousin Miguel Ferrer, the son of his aunt, the legendary singer and actress. rosemary clooney, It helped him land an extra role in a production shoot in Kentucky.

“Miguel, my first cousin, came to Kentucky because of a horse racing movie and I was walking the horses at Downs River, an old race track near Cincinnati, and they were going to Keeneland, which is a beautiful area in Lexington, to film,” he said.

“And he got me an additional role,” Clooney continued. “All of a sudden, I was on set and it was exciting and fun. And he said, ‘You should come to California, be an actor.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’”

“I got into my car in Monte Carlo and it was all over the rust and I drove to California.”

The actor recalls how his order for Fuji apples accidentally became a production requirement. (Reuters)

Clooney went on to share Nick’s reaction when he told his parents that he had decided to pursue an acting career.

“I remember going in to tell my mom and dad that I was leaving college and that I was going To California to be an actor. “And my father was like, ‘You’re an idiot,’” he recalls. “He was wrong because he wanted me to get an education.”

“He also knew how difficult it was,” Clooney continued. “I remember one point where he said, ‘I don’t think you have the intelligence to be an actor.’”

He added, laughing: “Now you realize that this is not a prerequisite.”

Clooney has previously said that although he enjoyed living in a close-knit community, he was desperate to leave farm life behind.

“One thing I knew when I left Kentucky was that I didn’t want to be a tobacco snipper,” he said. OK magazine In 2020. “So everything on top of that was gravy.”

Clooney dropped out of college to pursue acting. (Reuters)

However, Clooney admitted that he developed a strong work ethic and humility due to his blue-collar background, which helped him during his struggling years in Hollywood before finding success.

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After moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting, Clooney stayed with Rosemary before moving in with his friend, actor Tom Matthews, where he lived for eight months while sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a closet.

Clooney worked in construction to make ends meet and appeared in guest roles on soap operas and a series of failed television pilots.

While speaking with USA Today, Clooney recalled several failed auditions, including reading for Francis Ford Coppola, after which he learned that the director of “The Godfather” thought he was drunk.

12 years later, Clooney achieved fame at the age of 33 in 1994, when he was four years old. Cast in “ER.”

“It’s time to make it in Hollywood,” Clooney said. “I’ve failed so many times. I’d done 13 pilots and seven TV series before ER, so my path was completely different.”

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“For me, it’s been a long journey,” he added. “I probably had 100 auditions before I got my first paying job. So, you get a lot of rejection, but it’s not helpful. It gets tougher as you go.”

Clooney rose to fame when he played Dr. Doug Ross in the movie “ER.” (Sven Arnstein/NBCU Image Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

In 1996 vanity Fair Profile, Clooney’s friends and collaborators praised him for keeping his ego in check despite his newfound fame.

Joel Schumacher, who directed Clooney in his 1997 film “Batman & Robin,” told the outlet: “Woody Allen once said that success gives people permission to become exactly who they were always meant to be. Some people, when they succeed, they punish everyone. Others, like George, are grateful.”

Anthony Edwards, who co-starred with Clooney in ER, said: “George set a really great example of not becoming a dorky movie star.” “He doesn’t start from ego. He’s so strong in himself that he hasn’t changed.”

Meanwhile, Clooney shared advice from Nick that helped him survive in Hollywood.

“My father was probably the best for me in terms of understanding the basic law of show business, which is that you’re never as bad as they say you are when they say you’re bad, and you’re never as good as they say you’re good. Once you understand that, you’ll survive anything,” Clooney said.

However, Clooney told the outlet that one lesson he learned from his upbringing was learning how to handle finances more carefully than his parents.

“I’m more savvy with money, or I have a feeling that maybe I won’t screw it all up,” he said. “I mean, let’s get out of here for a bit so we don’t end up in a trailer.”

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George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney have been married for 11 years. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

Throughout his career, Clooney noted that his Kentucky roots and early struggles made him even more appreciative of his tremendous success.

In 2022, Clooney He was honored Along with rock band U2, singer Gladys Knight, pop singer and Christian songwriter Amy Grant, and Cuban-born composer Tanya Leon at the Kennedy Center Honors.

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During his speech at the awards ceremony, Clooney said: “Having grown up in a small town in Kentucky, I never imagined that one day I would be the person sitting in the balcony at the Kennedy Center Honors.”

He added: “To be mentioned in the same time as the rest of these wonderful artists is a great honor.”

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Meanwhile, despite his “desperate” one-time desire to escape farm life in Kentucky, Clooney said that later in life he found himself drawn to the rural lifestyle.

“Ticket to Paradise” star. He lives on a farm In France with his wife of 11 years, Amal Clooney, and their 8-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander.

during Interview with the respectedClooney explained why he decided to move his family to the French countryside.

“It was a big part of my life growing up on the farm, and as a kid I hated the whole idea. But now, for them, it’s like they’re not using their iPads, you know? They’re having dinner with the old people and they have to pick up their plates. They’re living a much better life.”

“I was worried about raising our kids in Los Angeles, in the culture Hollywood. “I felt like they would never get a fair shake in life,” he continued. “France – they kind of don’t care about fame. I don’t want them walking around worrying about the paparazzi. I don’t want them to be compared to someone else’s famous kids.”

During an interview with New York Times Earlier this year, Clooney spoke candidly about embracing a quieter life outside the city.

“Growing up in Kentucky, all I wanted to do was get away from the farm, get away from that life,” he told the New York Times in February. “Now I find myself back in that life. I’m driving a tractor and all that stuff. It’s the best chance at a normal life.”