Why George Clooney Turned Down $35M for Day of Work

George Clooney has made serious bank at the box office, and in founding and selling (for an estimated $780M) tequila brand Casamigos, so he can make choices most people would only dream of when it comes to work.

For example, the actor turned down $35 million for one day of work. He told the Guardian: “I was offered $35m for one day’s work for an airline commercial, but I talked to Amal Clooney, the human rights lawyer he married in 2014 about it and we decided it’s not worth it. It was associated with a country that, although it’s an ally, is questionable at times, and so I thought: ‘Well, if it takes a minute’s sleep away from me, it’s not worth it.'”

He also revealed how he’s avoided any major public missteps: “I was 33, 34 when ER took off, so I was older, right? Also, his aunt Rosemary was a huge singer – huge! And then rock’n’roll came and she lost her career. And she didn’t get it, because at 21 she thought she was the real deal and by 26 it was gone. So, I’m lucky enough to understand how little the fame side has to do with me.”

Clooney also said of his twins: “Ours are so different; it’s like night and day. Alexander loves to laugh and Ella‘s very serious, always making sure everybody plays by the rules. They really are born with their personalities!”

Of their traditional names: “We talked about it from the beginning and said: ‘Their lives are going to be unusual, right? There’s no denying that. So let’s give them a head start by giving them normal names.'”

He said they don’t have an army taking care of them: “We don’t, because it’s so important to Amal to be involved. We have a nanny four days a week and the rest of the time it’s just us. And during lockdown it was just us – for a full year! I felt like my mother in 1964, doing dishes and six loads of laundry a day.”