George Clooney has all-American look s and machismo in abundance, but at heart this Hollywood star is turning European
Shortly after he turned 40, George Clooney fell in love with and bought a villa on Lake Como, not far from Milan in Italy. It’s here he spends most of his time when not working on movies back in America. “It’s the prettiest place I’ve ever seen in my life,” exclaims the star, who bought the 18th-century Villa Oleandra in the small village of Laglio in 2002.
Although he was born and bred in the all-American heartlands of Kentucky and Ohio, it didn’t take Clooney very long to be won over by the European way of life once he arrived. “Italians live their lives beautifully,” he explains, “and I thought I’d like to try and infuse some of that into my life – embrace lunch and dinner and sunsets the way they embrace it.”
Dressed smartly in black, Clooney is, as his reputation suggests, full of charm. He likes to maintain eye contact which, while respectful, can be disarming. He is, after all, the 2006 recipient of People magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ award. It’s his second win, equalling his pal Brad Pitt’s record. “I’ve got Brad worried. He’s upset,” he smiles, an air of confidence adding to his allure.
The former ER actor turned movie star may send women across the world into a swoon, but right now Clooney only has eyes for Italy. “I love Italian food,” he declares. “My favourite food is pasta, especially penne all’arrabiata. In America we don’t know how to eat, how to drink, we don’t know how to take time for ourselves. I like the Italian sense of family. I see a worker come home with a bottle of wine, bread, flowers; I pass by the ice cream parlour and I see all the mothers with children; things I haven’t seen in the States for ages.
“The Italians who live in the village have such a wonderful spirit and sense of life,” he continues. “They treat me like a local and are very protective of my privacy. And even though I torture the local population with my mangled Italian, I feel very much at home.”
Well-known as an eternal bachelor, it’s just as well that Clooney has a ready-made family living at his villa all year round, made up of his concierge, her husband and her son. “We get up at about 6.30am and have breakfast all together with freshly home-baked bread,” he reveals. “Then I do an hour of fitness. On a day off, I take a tour on my bike in the afternoon. At the weekend I don’t go out, it’s too busy. I have the good fortune to have a wonderful house with a swimming pool and playrooms. My villa is always open to my friends. There are some great restaurants not too far away, but I also like to order supper at home and watch TV. That’s what my dolce vita looks like.”
Clooney was introduced to the Lake Como area by movie star Gregory Peck and explored it on his motorbike one summer. “I love Europe,” he says. “I go there as much as I can. I didn’t go there growing up, ever. The first time I went to Europe was when I was 33-years-old. I didn’t have the money to do it when I was young and, when I did have the money, I was working and didn’t have the time.”
In their latest film, Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh have tried to recreate a little part of Europe – American-style. Shot in the USA in black and white, The Good German is an homage to the film noir movies of 1940s Hollywood, which were heavily influenced by European émigré directors.
The film tells the story of an American reporter in Berlin covering the last Allied summit at the end of World War II. He’s drawn into a murder investigation that also involves his former love, played by Cate Blanchett with a flawless German accent.
The Good German wasn’t an easy sell to the studio, but Clooney has a lot of clout in Hollywood at the moment and is making the most of it. He explains: “There’s nobody at the studio going: ‘Please make a black and white film about the Potsdam Conference. Give us another black and white about Edward R Murrow in 1954,’” he laughs, referring to his acclaimed drama Good Night, and Good Luck. “They’re not saying: ‘Give us Syriana.’ They’re like: ‘Jesus, can’t you do one that will actually sell?’ So, we’re pushing as far as we can until they take all our toys away.”
His decision to make more thought-provoking movies in recent years has worked out well. He received screenplay and directing Academy Award nominations for Good Night and he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Syriana – a movie about oil industry corruption.
However, he doesn’t believe that the golden statuette has boosted his career. “It’s a nice thing, but it makes absolutely no difference when you sit down with the studio and you tell them you want to make a film. Even if you set it down on the table in front of them, they really don’t care. They’re happy for you, but it doesn’t make any a difference in my day-to-day life of getting things done.
It sits on a mantle. My friends will come over and pick it up and go: ‘Man, that’s heavy.’” He keeps his Oscar in his Hollywood home, rather than his Italian villa. It’s where it belongs.
And at the end of last year, Clooney learned that one Italian treasure perhaps best belongs in Italy. The actor introduced his celebrity pals back home to the famous Italian lemon liqueur nightcap limoncello, though not always with the best results. In December, to drown his sorrows over the death of Max, his Vietnamese pot-bellied pig and live-in companion for 18 years, the actor went out on the town with Danny DeVito. However, DeVito had to tape a TV show the next day and was clearly a little inebriated while on air.
“We were at a restaurant having dinner. They brought out the limoncello and we were both doing morning shows. I was worried about him and I survived a little better than he did, I think.” grins Clooney. “Maybe because I was dumping some of the shots in a plant pot. I was in bed by 11.30pm. The next day, I turned on the TV to watch Danny and I was like: ‘Oh man!’ It was so funny – he made me laugh. I couldn’t believe it,” he chortles. “At least he’s a fun drunk.”
La Dolce Vita
Né et élevé au coeur de l’Amérique profonde, dans le Kentucky et l’Ohio, Clooney a malgré tout été rapidement conquis par le style de vie européen. En 2002, il achète une villa dans le petit village de Laglio sur le lac de Côme.
“Les Italiens vivent le quotidien avec une grande beauté, et en les côtoyant j’aimerais introduire cette dimension dans ma propre existence,” explique-t-il. “Un ouvrier qui rentre après sa journée avec une bouteille de vin, du pain et des fleurs… des mères avec leurs enfants à la devanture du marchand de glaces… je vois des scènes auxquelles je n’ai plus assisté aux Etats-Unis depuis très longtemps.
Il a également développé un goût passionné pour le cocktail italien limoncello, pas toujours avec les meilleurs résultats d’ailleurs, lorsqu’il a la main un peu trop légère.
C’est le grand acteur Gregory Peck qui a fait découvrir la région du lac de Côme à Clooney, qui l’a parcourue en moto au cours d’un été. “J’adore l’Europe,” confiet-il. “Je m’y rends aussi souvent que possible. ”
Dans leur dernier film, Clooney et le réalisateur Steven Soderbergh ont essayé de recréer une petite partie de l’Europe, sous influence américaine. Tourné aux USA en noir et blanc, The Good German rend hommage aux films noirs hollywoodiens des années 1940, fortement influencés par les réalisateurs issus de l’émigration européenne.
Le film retrace l’histoire d’un journaliste américain à Berlin, qui couvre le dernier sommet des Alliés à la fin de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale. Il est entraîné dans une enquête sur un meurtre qui implique son ancienne maîtresse, interprétée par Cate Blanchett au pur accent allemand.
La sortie de The Good German en Europe est prévue en mars/ avril.
La Dolce Vita
George Clooney, een typisch Amerikaanse jongen uit Kentucky, viel al snel voor de charmes van de Europese levensstijl. In 2002 kocht hij zelfs een villa in het Italiaanse dorpje Laglio aan het Comomeer.
“Italianen genieten echt van het leven, en dat zag ik ook wel zitten”, zegt hij. “Na een dag werken zie je er mensen huiswaarts keren met wijn, brood en bloemen. De gezellige ijssalon zit vol moeders en kinderen. Iets dat ik in de States in geen jaren heb gezien.”
Hij ontwikkelde ook een voorliefde voor een Italiaans slaapmutsje, de limoncello, zeker als het niet bij één glaasje blijft.
Het was filmster Gregory Peck die Clooney het Comomeer liet ontdekken. “Nadien heb ik zelf de streek met de motor verkend. Ik hou van Europa”, vertelt hij, “en trek er zo vaak heen als ik kan.”
In hun laatste film brengen Clooney en regisseur Steven Soderbergh een stukje Europa tot leven, in een Amerikaans jasje. De volledig in de VS gedraaide zwartwitfilm The Good German is een hommage aan de ‘film noir’ uit de jaren ’40, toen het geliefkoosde genre van naar Hollywood uitgeweken Europese regisseurs.
De film vertelt het verhaal van een Amerikaanse reporter die aan het einde van WO II vanuit Berlijn verslag uitbrengt over de laatste Conferentie van de Geallieerden. Samen met zijn voormalige geliefde, gespeeld door een vlekkeloos Duits sprekende Cate Blanchett, raakt hij betrokken bij een moordonderzoek.
The Good German wordt in maart/ april in de Europese zalen verwacht.
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