‘A simple process, hard work, and a little luck’

NEW DELHI: Before he stepped on to the silver screen, George Clooney sold women’s shoes and went door to door selling insurance. As a young boy, he did not consider acting as a profession, because he did not know any actors. Four decades, two Academy awards and four Golden Globes later, Clooney is one of Holly“It wood’s most successful, a feat he insists is “down to luck”.

“We are all products of hard work and determination – and a little bit of luck,” he said.

“People around us don’t get to have the kind of fun we do,” the 61-year-old actor, director, producer and global heartthrob said during a freewheeling conversation with acclaimed Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor at the 20th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday.

all starts with a really good script. You can’t make a good film or a good performance out of a bad script,” he said, underlining that he didn’t feel he was owed award-night recognition for his work.

His process is straightforward and he prefers not to “torture the whole crew”, said Clooney, whose latest Oscar was for his role as producer in the 2012 historical drama Argo.

“I read the script and try to translate it on to the screen.”

Clooney self-deprecatingly admitted that he doesn’t always succeed.

“Some of my best performances were comedies, even if unintentionally. Batman & Robin was a comedy,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek, referring to the 1997 film that was poorly received.

Kapoor agreed. “I laughed when I read somewhere that they said you nearly killed the franchise”.

The Mr India star also chose to address the elephant in any room with George Clooney: “Your fans see you as a great-looking guy, happily married, with children, the coffee, the tequila. But nobody’s ever seen you exercising or working out! What do you eat to stay so good-looking?”

Clooney said his routine was the same “as everyone else’s”.

“I try to follow a Mediterranean diet for the most part and everything in moderation – including moderation itself, and I play a lot of basketball and tennis,” he said.

Some of my best performances were comedies, even if unintentionally. GEORGE CLOONEY

He would, however, like to steer clear of politics, said the actor, who is fervently outspoken on a host of global issues

“I think it’s a lot more fun to play them (politicians) in films…,” he said.

To this, Kapoor, 66, asked if it was true if the Michael Clayton star once “turned down $35 million for a day’s work”, referring to revelations Clooney made during an interview last year, when he said he rejected the chance to work on an airline commercial.

The actor and his wife, noted lawyer Amal, together run the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which works on preserving human rights across the globe and providing free legal aid for vulnerable people.

“I find that when your employer is a person ruining the civil and human rights of the people, I find it hard to take that money, using my reputation to try and clean their own. I feel like my reputation is worth better than that,” he said.