(LOS ANGELES) — George Clooney says celebrities who claim that their job is tough have no idea how difficult life truly is.
Speaking to Page Six, the Midnight Sky actor opened up about his lack of sympathy for those who complain that acting is tiring work.
“I’ve done physically rough films. Perfect Storm I got beat up in the water. In [The Midnight Sky], my character’s dying, so I had to lose weight. You get weakened,” explained Clooney, 59, who revealed last week that he was hospitalized with pancreatitis after losing 30 pounds for the role.
“Directing, you need to work out first, get into shape, because as the general you’re carrying all these people up the hill. Physically it was a lot,” he continued.
Despite it all, Clooney says those roles were a cakewalk compared to a job he held before he arrived at Hollywood.
“Listen, I once cut tobacco for a living for $3 an hour. When actors say how hard it is, I’m like, ‘Come cut tobacco for a day,"” challenged Clooney, who “also sold ladies’ shoes and insurance door to door” before becoming a TV star and heartthrob as Dr. Doug Ross on the 1990s medical drama ER.
“To do our job, to still be kids, play make-believe, we should enjoy it. We’re the lucky ones,” he vented.
The two-time Oscar winner also remarked that actors need to take their job seriously on set because he says it’s a privilege.
“If you do more takes on yourself than the other actors — you’re a schmuck,” advised Clooney. “You have to do your stuff as quickly as possible and get it over with.”
Clooney’s new film, The Midnight Sky arrives on Netflix on December 23, 2020. It is currently available in theaters on a limited theatrical run.
By Megan StoneCopyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
