George Clooney, 64, may be Hollywood royalty, but when it comes to his twins, Alexander and Ella, 8, he’s hoping they take a path far removed from the red carpets and movie sets.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of his new film 'Jay Kelly,' the actor admitted that he’d rather see his children follow in the footsteps of his wife, Amal Clooney, a celebrated human rights and international law lawyer.
© Getty“Because I don’t want them in it,” Clooney said with a laugh when asked why his twins weren’t making a cameo in his latest movie. “Well, they actually don’t know what I do for a living yet. No, not really.”
He elaborated on the idea of a legal future for the kids, sharing a humorous moment about Alexander’s recent Halloween costume.
© Getty“I hope. My god, a lawyer? That’d be amazing," Clooney said. "You know, my son went to Halloween dressed as Batman, and I was like, ‘You know, I was Batman.’ And he was like, ‘Not really.’ And I was like, ‘You have no idea how right you are.’”
The Clooneys have deliberately chosen a quiet life on a farm in France, far from Los Angeles. “You know, we live on a farm in France. A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid, I hated the whole idea," Clooney told Esquire.
© Dave Benett"But now, for them, it’s like—they’re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life.”
He added that raising children in Los Angeles would have been far more challenging. “I was worried about raising our kids in LA, in the culture of Hollywood. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France—they kind of don’t give a s--- about fame. I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”
© WireImageIn a playful moment captured during a family lunch, Clooney revealed the twins’ dramatic humor. As he unveiled lemon pasta and chicken with fresh tomatoes from their garden, Amal joked that the children were "lucky" she hadn’t cooked it herself. Clooney asked what would happen if she had, and the twins replied in unison, “We all die!”
Despite hoping his children don’t follow his career, Clooney sees a clear reflection of himself in his son. In an interview with People at the 'Jay Kelly' premiere during AFI Fest in Los Angeles, Clooney revealed that Alexander is “a spitting image” of him at the same age.
© Michael Loccisano“My son looks exactly like I looked when I was his age, so it’s sort of cut and paste in a way,” Clooney said. He added that when he shows Alexander old pictures of himself, the boy thinks they are photos of him. “It’s pretty fun,” he gushed.
Clooney also shared that he’s found a comfortable, contented place in life. “I like what I do for a living, I have great friends,” he explained. “I spend time with people that I love, and I’ve been able and lucky enough late in life to be able to spend time with my family.”
© Hoda DavaineGeorge and Amal welcomed their twins in 2017, when George was 56 and Amal 47. Parenthood drastically reshaped both of their lives, including their career choices and adventures abroad.
“I used to enjoy going in places that were dangerous. I liked going into the Nuba Mountains and Darfur and Abyei, and there were war zones,” Clooney recalled. “I found it exhilarating. And Amal was in a bunker in Beirut for two years doing the court cases. And we had to make decisions not to do that once we had kids. You had to change sort of what the rules were.”
