George Clooney Reveals the Wise Advice Legendary Film Icon Paul Newman Gave Him Back in the ‘90s
- - George Clooney Reveals the Wise Advice Legendary Film Icon Paul Newman Gave Him Back in the ‘90s
Megan JohnsonNovember 23, 2025 at 9:34 PM
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George Clooney may be one of the biggest movie stars in the world, but he was very wise to listen when Paul Newman gave him advice.
Clooney, 64, who stars in Noah Baumbach‘s latest film, Jay Kelly, alongside Adam Sandler, sat down with the New York Times and revealed that back in the '90s, during the height of his role as Dr. Doug Ross on NBC's hit medical series ER, he had an interesting run-in with legendary film star and philanthropist Paul Newman.
Photo by Michael Buckner on Getty Images
During the interview, which Sandler was also present for, Clooney mentioned that he's "not as good at getting out as you are," referring to Sandler's natural ability to interact with the public.
"I have a tendency to go, 'If I go out, that’s going to be an extra hour of talking to people.' Paul Newman actually talked about this to me," Clooney recalled. When I first met him, he was at Warner Bros. doing Message in a Bottle, and I was on ER. Newman was sitting outside smoking a cigarette, so I pulled up in the golf cart and was like, 'Hey, just wanted to say hi.' He had no idea who I was, but everybody who came by on golf carts was like, 'Hey, George.' 'George!' So bit by bit, he figured out I was successful in the industry in some way."
Clooney continued, sharing the advice Newman gave him upon realizing that Clooney was incredibly famous.
"Then he goes, 'George, don’t let them keep you at home.' He meant very specifically that tendency to isolate because you’re trying to hold onto some privacy. My tendency at that moment was to stay in, and hearing Newman say that, it made sense immediately," the actor shared.
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Clooney Has Seen The Dark Side of Fame
Before he found tremendous fame on ER, Clooney had seen the negative ways fame could affect someone. He went on to say that he saw this with his aunt, legendary singer Rosemary Clooney.
"I’d seen it from the point of view of my aunt [the singer Rosemary Clooney]. She was a big star in Hollywood in the ’50s, then pop music changed, and she was out of business," the actor recalled. "She didn’t handle it well and lost about 30 years on drugs and booze, being pretty angry at life."
Related: ‘80s ‘Knots Landing’ Icon Donna Mills, 84, Is an Ageless Blonde Beauty as She Cozies up to George Clooney
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
