GEORGE CLOONEY
GOODBYE HOLLYWOOD! THE 56-YEAR-OLD FIRSTTIME DAD IS TAKING A BREAK FROM HIS CAREER TO FOCUS ON RAISING TWINS
He’s putting Hollywood on hold to raise his new twins in England.
When expectant father George Clooney visited his family and friends in Augusta, Ken., with wife Amal a few months ago, his excitement was palpable. “He seemed awfully happy,” longtime friend Ronnie French tells Closer of George’s joy over his coming twins, a boy and a girl. “George will be a fantastic dad. He’ll love those kids, and they’ll have a great time with him. He’s still a big kid, too!”
That big kid is taking his new parenting responsibilities very seriously, however. “He’s attacked fatherhood like it’s the most important role of his life, reading a ton of birthing, baby and child psychology books,” an insider tells Closer, adding that the A-list actor, a firsttime dad at 56, is willingly putting his career on hold for the sake of his family. After completing the film Suburbicon (due in November), “he’ll take off some time, and he’s leaving Hollywood for London so he can be there for his kids.”
BABY BOOM
George’s twin announcement in February shocked many, because he’d long been regarded as a perpetual bachelor and talked openly not only about his fear of commitment, but his lack of desire to have children. George, who divorced Talia Balsam in 1993, even bet pal Michelle Pfeiffer that he’d never marry again. “He keeps inflating the bet from $100 to $100,000,” she revealed. But Michelle had the last laugh when George and Amal, now 39, walked down the aisle in a lavish 2014 wedding in Venice, Italy.
His tune has changed on starting a family, as well. “We are really happy and really excited,” George says. “It’s going to be an adventure. We’ve sort of embraced it with arms wide open.”
He’s also embracing a new normal
“It’s the most responsible thing you can do, to have kids. It’s not something to be taken lightly.”
— George
in England, where he “loves the quiet, village life in the Berkshire town of Sonning,” the insider says. “He thinks the British people have the best manners in the world, and they seem to realize family is more important than career.”
The couple’s freshly renovated 17thcentury mansion will allow Amal to remain close to her work in London as a human-rights lawyer at Doughty Street Chambers — as well as to her parents, Ramzi and Baria Alamuddin, who live nearby. “Amal’s mother Baria will provide a great support system for the couple, the insider adds.
Although they’ll have live-in child care (“Two nannies around the clock, because it’s two babies,” a source tells Closer), George plans to be a very hands-on dad as he hits this pause button on his career. “One of his idols, Cary Grant, had his first child at an older age, and he pretty much walked away from Hollywood,” the insider explains. “While George won’t totally turn his back on show business, he’ll scale back. That doesn’t mean he’d turn down a great role down the line, but it’s less of a priority.”
HIS NEW LIFE
Instead, George’s main focus for the near future will be his kids. “Everybody is excited for him,” George’s cousin Ben Breslin tells Closer, adding the star’s solid upbringing will serve him well. “He comes from a good family, he knows how to treat people well, and I think everything will be perfect.”
That doesn’t mean there won’t be some first-time-dad jitters that come into play. “How could I not be anxious when facing this huge responsibility? Having a baby — actually two!” George admits. “We are very happy, but also a bit nervous. It’s normal.”
One fear plaguing him has been the fact that he waited so long to start a family. “He hates the idea of being the oldest father at school and dreads the image of kicking a soccer ball around or dribbling a basketball when he’s 70 and his son and daughter are in their early teens,” the insider says.
His longtime friend is confident, though, that George will prove to be a fantastic role model. “He played softball, baseball, basketball — he liked to do stuff,” Ronnie says. “I’d like to think he’d say, ‘I’m gonna make me some athletes instead of actors,’ but George is smart enough to let them do whatever they decide to do.”
Along with Amal’s parents, George is counting on having his own folks, Nick Clooney, 83, and Nina Bruce Warren, 77, around, too. “He wants
“He’s going to be great. He’ll be a mess, but Amal will take care of
everything.” — Matt Damon, kidding about his
pal George becoming a father
them to be a huge part of his kids’ lives,” the source says, “and his hope is that he and Amal can convince them to spend some time in London.”
George is open to advice and support from his best friends, including Julia Roberts, Cindy Crawford and husband Rande Gerber, Sandra Bullock and others. “He’ll miss his friends in LA,” the insider notes of George’s move, “but that doesn’t mean he won’t stay in contact with them.”
Of course, the person he’ll be leaning on most during this period of adjustment will be Amal. “People think we’re never together, but we have not been separated for more than a week,” George insists.
“He truly considers Amal his best friend,” the source confirms, and she’s gotten a big kick out of watching her husband’s fervent baby-care research. “He reads tons of books and everything on the internet, too. He can’t seem to get enough information,” the source reports, “and Amal thinks it’s adorable.”
The couple are on the same page about putting their twins’ needs above everything else. “We decided to be much more responsible,” George says of their agreeing to avoid travel to dangerous areas of the world. “I won’t go to South Sudan any more and Amal will no longer go to Iraq, and she’ll avoid places she knows she isn’t welcome.”
With homes in the U.S., London and Italy, the family will still be able to enjoy their jet-setting ways, although George knows that will change in a few years: “As soon as the children go to school, it’ll be necessary to choose where to settle. In the meantime, we will continue to move according to our respective schedules.”
Those closest to him believe George will be able to find a balance between work and family, so this upcoming break doesn’t mean he’ll turn his back on acting forever. “Never,” the source says. “He loves his work and being a celebrity too much. He remembers there were nights when he had to sleep in his car. George loves Hollywood, and he can definitely juggle the kids and film projects.”
Thanks to his children, he’ll be a leading man with a kinder, gentler side. “He’s become a softer, warmer person,” the insider says. “The change from Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor to loving husband and father is almost complete — and he’s loving every minute of it.”