George Clooney has shared a deeply personal moment in his new Netflix film Jay Kelly that caught him completely off guard, blurring the line between fiction and real life in a way he did not expect.
Speaking on Entertainment Weekly’s Around the Table, the two-time Oscar winner revealed that a key scene featuring his character receiving a lifetime achievement award included actual clips from Clooney’s own film career.
The decision, made by co writer and director Noah Baumbach, was kept secret from both Clooney and co star Adam Sandler.
“Oh, it was a surprise all right. I was surprised,” he said while Adam Sandler added, “We were both surprised. We felt things that we didn’t expect to feel.”
Clooney went on to express, “We held hands. No, I didn’t know he was going to use sort of clips from my own actual career, which was a surprise. And you get to look at a lot of bad haircuts over the… mullets.
“Don’t you laugh,” he quipped to Sandler. “You had a mullet.”
Jay Kelly, now streaming on Netflix, follows the story of a famous actor grappling with his past successes and personal regrets as he embarks on a journey of self discovery. Clooney stars as the titular character, while Sandler plays his devoted longtime manager, Ron.