George Clooney still loves directing movies. What he cannot justify right now is spending a year away from the daily lives of his children.
The 65 year old actor explained his absence from the director’s chair during a September 2 press conference at the Venice Film Festival. Clooney said acting generally requires about three months of his time and lets him travel home between stretches, while directing can keep him in one location for a year. “So I can’t do that anymore,” he said, according to PEOPLE.
Clooney and his wife, Amal Clooney, are raising 9 year old twins Alexander and Ella. He said the children are the only reason he is not directing now, rather than any frustration with the mixed reception his movies have received over the years.
His last feature as a director was 2023’s The Boys in the Boat. Clooney said he is enjoying acting again because the shorter commitments allow him to structure work around his family.
Clooney Says His Children Are the Only Reason He Is Not Directing
“The only reason I’m not directing, which I love doing, is because I have two 9 year old kids,” Clooney told reporters in Venice.
He explained that an acting job can occupy him for three months while still allowing him to travel home. Directing requires a much longer continuous commitment.
“When you direct a movie, it’s a year wherever you are and there’s no traveling back and forth,” he said. “So I can’t do that anymore.”
The Hollywood Reporter also reported that Clooney called his children the reason he has put directing aside. He said he has had both great and difficult experiences as a filmmaker and does not view mixed reactions to his movies as a reason to stop.
Broadway Showed Him How Difficult a Long Commitment Can Be
Clooney pointed to his 2025 Broadway production of Good Night, and Good Luck as a recent example of the problem.
He adapted the 2005 film for the stage and starred as CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow at the Winter Garden Theatre. The performance earned him a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Play.
The production required Clooney, Amal and their twins to spend an extended period in New York. Clooney said in Venice that the experience “took us all away for a period of time” and that he can no longer simply pull Alexander and Ella out of school for his work.
“It’s fun to be an actor,” he said. “I’m enjoying it, actually.”
Clooney Joked That He Is ‘a Character Actor Now’
Clooney described himself as “a character actor now,” although one of his upcoming projects will return him to one of his best known leading roles.
He is expected to reprise Danny Ocean in the next Ocean’s movie alongside Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Julia Roberts. The project is currently in preproduction.
Clooney said at Venice that he would work with Pitt and Damon anytime and that filming will begin once the actors can make their schedules align. He previously said Warner Bros. had approved the budget for the movie.
Venice Is Honoring Clooney as an Actor, Director and Producer
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Clooney made the comments on the opening day of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where he will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
The festival’s official Golden Lion announcement recognizes Clooney’s work as an actor, director and producer. His history with Venice dates to 1998, when Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight screened at the festival.
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera described Clooney as a filmmaker who has moved between acting, directing and producing with unusual versatility. Clooney responded to the honor with a joke about what a lifetime achievement award says about his age.
“I’ve had so many extraordinary moments in Venice,” he said. “This festival is without question my favorite and to be given the Golden Lion is a tremendous honor. It also probably means I’m old, but I’ll take it.”
Laura Dern will deliver the tribute to Clooney during the September 2 opening ceremony at the Palazzo del Cinema.