George Clooney Admits He Was 'a Little Disturbed' When Confronted with Footage from His Old Movies (Exclusive)

[size=46]George Clooney Admits He Was 'a Little Disturbed' When Confronted with Footage from His Old Movies (Exclusive)
“You have to really fortify yourself for seeing 40 years of aging on screen,” Clooney tells PEOPLE
By 
Jack Smart
Jack Smart
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Jack Smart is the Movies Staff Writer at PEOPLE. With 10 years of experience as an entertainment journalist, he previously worked at The A.V. Club and Backstage.
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Published on November 28, 2025 08:00AM EST[/size]
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Jay Kelly.Credit : 
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NEED TO KNOW

• George Clooney plays a movie star in new movie Jay Kelly
  
• Filming its final scene, Clooney was shown footage from his own past projects, which he says he was not told about beforehand
  
• “I was really surprised by that — and a little disturbed,” quips the actor-filmmaker to PEOPLE
  

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George Clooney got a blast from the past watching his new movie. 
In Jay Kelly (in theaters now and on Netflix Dec. 5), the Oscar winner, 64, plays a famous movie star not unlike himself. Speaking to PEOPLE at the Noah Baumbach movie’s Nov. 11 Los Angeles premiere, it’s clear some of the parallels with his real life were less than comfortable. 
The final scene of Jay Kelly — light spoilers follow — shows Clooney’s Jay and his manager (played by Adam Sandler) taking in a highlights reel of Jay’s past cinema work at a lifetime achievement ceremony. Baumbach used real footage from the actor’s many past screen projects, a move Clooney says he “didn't know they were going to do.” 

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The Facts of Life.
Ron Tom/NBCU Photo Bank

“The first time he shot, it was the first time he showed it to me,” explains Clooney. “The first take is in the movie.”
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When he’s seen grabbing hold of Sandler’s hand, Clooney confirms, it’s barely acting. “I was really surprised by that — and a little disturbed,” he admits. 

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George Clooney.
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“It's hard,” he quips. “You have to really fortify yourself for seeing 40 years of aging on screen. It's not so easy with a bad mullet. It's not great.”
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It was around the time he booked his breakout role in the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life that Clooney sported a thick, dark mullet, as he recently showed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “Look at that hair! That’s a mullet, dude,” he said of a snap of him from that era. [/size]

Well, what are we all thinking of 'Jay Kelly?'

I thought it was incredibly sad, and tentatively hopeful, and one of his best.

I think it bumps 'Up in the Air' down a slot on my favorites list, with 'Michael Clayton' retaining the top spot.

Way2Old - I just finished watching the movie & haven't fully processed it yet. I thought all the performances were spot-on & was especially impressed by Adam Sandler (who I've never liked before this). As usual, George did a great job with a complex part. He really is getting better as he gets older.

That said, I'm not sure how I feel about the movie as a whole. I found most of the main characters unlikeable & that's probably influencing how I feel about the movie. Maybe a rewatch will change my opinion, but right now it's not one of my favorites.

I just watched Jay Kelly 3 days ago and I agree with Lizzy. The movie was ok but not a favorite.  I still like Gravity and Up in the Air the best.  Maybe because I'm 65 and dealing with some of the same issues as Jay Kelly is.... I don't know? I was shocked to see Gio in the movie. The scene where he jumps off the train and falls did make me laugh. Otherwise,  the movie was mostly sad.

Yeah, I get it. I like its complexity. Jay is selfish and self-absorbed and not reliable when it really counts or until it might be too late - yet you still somehow like him and relate to him because you also see the decency beneath it all. And he's surrounded by "industry" people who actually hate their industry, which is why it's hard to like any of them. But the story itself is basic human drama, reckoning with regret and mistakes, and hoping for second chances.

Lizzy, I'm not a Sandler fan at all. I never watched his comedies, but I liked him in this and the movie where he plays a basketball scout who hangs his career on a foreign recruit. (Can't remember the title. Queen Latifah played his wife.)

Ida - I agree. I loved seeing Gio. He made me laugh in a movie that seems determined to focus on the most disappointing aspects of relationships. 

 I found the few characters that were meant to be funny to be cartoonish and annoying. Gio's low key appearances, using his facial expressions to show his emotions, were much more satisfying.

I'm going to take a few days before I watch the movie again Maybe I'll feel different about it next time.

When I watched it, I thought, "Wow, they found somebody who looks just like Gio."   That part was pretty cool.

I think this performance will ultimately be ranked fairly high among 'Michael Clayton,' 'Up in the Air,' 'Syriana,' 'Gravity,' and 'The Descendants.' But I totally see how the movie itself can be a pass for a lot of people.

Way2Old- Have you read the Tudum article Annemarie posted? It's interesting to see how they approached the movie. I don't think I took away from it what they intended.