George Clooney has done a number of commercials in the past, but in a recent interview he revealed that he once turned down $35 million for a single day of work on a commercial.
Speaking with the Guardian, the actor and filmmaker said that he turned down the massive payday. “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 explained.
Clooney didn’t elaborate further on what he meant, but it’s abundantly clear that he’s not hurting for money. He’s filmed plenty of commercials for Nespresso, which reportedly got him $40 million, and his tequila company Casamigos was reportedly sold for an astonishing $1 billion in 2017. He’s currently busy promoting his new coming-of-age drama The Tender Bar, which he directed. He’s set to make his return to appearing in front of the camera next year with the romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise, in which he will star opposite Julia Roberts.
In his interview, he also touched upon why he’s not acted quite as much as he has done in the past. “In general, there just aren’t that many great parts–and, look, I don’t have to act,” he said. “My wife and I had this conversation when I turned 60 this summer. I said: ‘I can still bounce around pretty good, and we both love what we do. But we gotta make sure we don’t book ourselves silly.’ So, part of it is just us making sure we live our lives.”
Head over to the Guardian to read Clooney’s interview in full.
