George Clooney doesn’t care what people think of his acting presence.
The actor recently spoke to Vanity Fair about his role in the upcoming Noah Baumbach film Jay Kelly.
Baumbach is known for his preferred directing style of doing a large amount of takes. Clooney told the outlet he discussed adjusting this with the director.
“I literally said to him, ‘Noah, look, I love the script. I love you as a director, but I’m 63 years old, dude—I can’t do 50 takes,’” Clooney said. “‘I don’t have it in me. I’ve got the acting range from A to B.’”
In the film, Clooney plays a world famous movie star in his 60s who faces critics who say he always plays himself. Clooney was asked how he feels about this specific type of criticism in his real life.
“Do people say that I only play myself? I don’t give a s***,” Clooney said. “There aren’t that many guys in my age group that are allowed to do both broad comedies like O Brother [Where Art Thou?] and then do Michael Clayton or Syriana. So if that means I’m playing myself all the time, I don’t give a s***. … Have you ever tried playing yourself? It’s hard to do.”
Clooney also took the time to praise his Jay Kelly co-star Adam Sandler.
“This film, more than any film Adam has done, shows what a beautiful, heartfelt, soulful actor he is,” Clooney said. “I kept telling the cast, ‘Don’t call him Sand Man. Don’t talk to him like he’s just some goofy comedian. He’s actually a really beautiful, wonderful actor.’”
Jay Kelly will premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival in August before arriving in select theaters on Nov. 14. It streams on Netflix on Dec. 5.
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