After working in the industry for years, George Clooney finally got his big break with a starring role in the medical series ER and, through the 1990s, made a radical ascent to be one of Hollywood’s biggest stars by the early 2000s. Renowned for his charisma which seems to lend itself to any genre, he has established himself as a leading man capable of doing anything from political drama to romantic comedy.
Contributing to film in a variety of ways, Clooney has received Academy Awards in six different categories throughout his career, winning two in total – one for acting and one for his co-production of Argo. It will forever be his performances that he is most remembered for though, and there are plenty of great ones to enjoy.
20 ‘The American’ (2010)
A no-nonsense action thriller which kept its emotional inflections in check, The American saw George Clooney in a more reserved, stripped-down role. It follows a masterful assassin who, after a job goes wrong in Sweden, retreats to the Italian countryside where his plans to remain covert are thwarted when he develops unlikely relationships which threaten to blow his cover.
While one of Clooney’s greatest assets as an actor has always been his insatiable charisma, it was an unlikely treat to see his natural charm so subdued. The European thriller became a modest commercial and critical success and remains an overlooked and rather unique performance in Clooney’s career.
19 ‘Intolerable Cruelty’ (2003)
Another prime example of how effective George Clooney would have been as a leading man in eras long past, Intolerable Cruelty is a quickfire smart and sharp romantic comedy from frequent collaborators with Clooney, the Coen Brothers. It follows a shrewd divorce attorney who comes at odds with the ex-wife of a client who vows revenge on him and turns to a wealthy oil baron for aid.
Despite its mainstream taste, it still featured much of the Coens’ distinct, off-beat humor. It also made exceptional use of its sizzling lead performances from Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones to hit the mark as a saucy, steamy, star-studded hit.
18 ‘The Thin Red Line’ (1998)
Viewed by many to be director Terrance Malick’s masterpiece, The Thin Red Line featured a star-studded cast as it brought a deeply philosophical edge to the horrors of war. Based on the 1962 novel by James Jones, it follows the journey of a solider in the South Pacific during WWII as he is thrust back into action after having gone AWOL.
Its weaving of awe-inspiring battle sequences with mesmerizing visual imagery gave the film a poetic yet harrowing beauty as it dove headfirst into war like no other film has. While Clooney’s role was cut considerably, limiting him to a minor supporting part, the sheer brilliance of The Thin Red Line ensures it’s still one of his most impressive acting credits.
17 ‘Solaris’ (2002)
An adaptation of Stanisław Lem’s acclaimed sci-fi novel, Solaris offered a deep, contemplative entry for genre lovers. Clooney re-united with director Steven Soderberg, playing the starring role of a psychiatrist who agrees to venture to a space station orbiting planet Solaris with the hope of convincing the crew to return from their side-tracked post despite their wishes to stay.
Condensed but idealistic and willing to grapple with difficult questions, it absorbed audiences with its mysticism, especially as Dr. Kelvin (Clooney) finds himself becoming immersed in Solaris’ alluring mysteries. Despite Soderberg maintaining the film was a clear adaptation of the novel, it struggled to escape comparisons to Andrei Tarkovsky’s ethereal film from the same source material and suffered both critically and commercially as a result despite having plenty to offer.
16 ‘Burn After Reading’ (2008)
While it’s not their masterpiece, Burn After Reading is a suitably sharp and hilarious black comedy offering from the Coen Brothers. It follows a range of interlinked characters involved in a farcical political conspiracy which begins when two gym employees discover a retired CIA analysts memoirs and try to blackmail him for money.
Clooney portrays former U.S. Marshall Harry Pfarrer, a married man embarking on a romantic relationship with one of the gym employees while involved in another affair with the wife of the CIA analyst. Wonderfully oblivious throughout the film, delusions of self-importance and an acute awareness in the suspicious incidents occurring around him lead Pfarrer to grow increasingly paranoid, with Clooney hysterical in the role.
15 ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’ (2002)
A terrifically inventive blending of real life inspiration and wild espionage fantasy, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is an adaptation of the bizarre unauthorized biography in which renowned game show host Chuck Barris claimed to have been an assassin for the CIA. It featured a then relatively unknown Sam Rockwell in the starring role and served as Clooney’s directorial debut.
Clooney also plays the supporting part of CIA agent Jim Byrd, the operative who recruits Barris to the agency and acts as his handler. While Rockwell received wide praise for his performance, the film proved to be a pivotal one in Clooney’s career, establishing him as a director with stylish flair, a deft touch, and a knack for mixing genres with aplomb.
14 ‘The Ides of March’ (2011)
Demanding the full force of George Clooney’s expertise, The Ides of March saw him serve as director, producer, co-writer, and co-star. The political drama stars Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers, the idealistic junior campaign manager for Democratic presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney) whose startling impression of his superior shatters when he learns of an affair that could jeopardize his candidacy.
At just 101 minutes, it moved at a sprightly pace which kept the unraveling truth and shifting allegiances engaging. With such actors as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, and Jeffrey Wright filling the supporting roles, it had a tendency to pop off the screen and was easy to lap up, especially for lovers of political dramas.
13 ‘Hail, Caesar!’ (2016)
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Hail, Caesar! currently stands as the most recent collaboration between George Clooney and the Coen Brothers. It’s also probably their most underrated. Set in 1950s Hollywood, it follows a fixer as he keeps the studio’s stars in line, which involves looking into the whereabouts of the leading man of a swords-and-sandals epic who has been kidnapped by black-listed communist screenwriters.
Clooney was at his dumbfounded comedic best as Baird Whitlock, the abducted star who starts to come around to the views of his captors. The adoring satire of old Hollywood struck a chord with film lovers, boasting its own ensemble cast who turned in committed performances and made the Coens’ off-kilter comedy taste work a treat.
12 ‘The Descendants’ (2011)
A beautifully poised tragicomedy about family, loss, and tough decisions, The Descendants was both funny and deeply moving. Clooney stars as Matt King, a Hawaiian attorney and land baron who is being pressured to sell the family property when his wife falls into a coma, prompting him to reconnect with his two daughters while trying to reach out to the man his wife was having an affair with.
Director Alexander Payne thrives at embracing the human drama of the story with a very real and powerful depth which wasn’t afraid to revel in the messiness of life. It prompted astounding performances from the entire cast with Clooney receiving an Academy Award nomination for his efforts.
11 ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ (2005)
Just Clooney’s second directors credit, and his first credit for screenwriting on a feature film, Good Night, and Good Luck represents the star at his almighty best. It follows broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) as he works to uncover the obscenities within Senator Joseph McCarthy’s invasive campaign against Communists in America.
Clooney leans into his penchant for political drama and yields insatiable results, with his razor-sharp direction, pulsating script, and Strathairn’s captivating performance all receiving recognition among the film’s six Oscar nominations. Clooney made an impact on-screen as well, portraying Murrow’s ally and co-producer Fred W. Friendly.
10 ‘The Perfect Storm’ (2000)
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Following the crew of the commercial fishing boat the Andrea Gail, The Perfect Storm was a biographical, oceanic disaster movie from acclaimed German filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen. Clooney starred as Billy Tyne Jr., the captain of the vessel who, after a dour season, decides to make one last catch only to find himself and his crew embattling a powerful storm.
While the film strayed into speculation and hyperbole to elevate the drama, it did use stunning visual effects to depict the awe-inspiring and dreadful terror of the horrific conditions the crew must have faced. Critics were divided at the time, but the film became a huge financial success, going on to be the eighth highest grossing movie of 2000.
9 ‘Three Kings’ (1999)
As peculiar as it was daring, Three Kings saw director David O. Russell blend elements of war drama, action thrills, and outright comedy into a movie about the immediate aftermath of the Gulf War. It follows four American soldiers who inadvertently gain information about a cache of Saddam Hussein’s hidden gold buried near their military base.
George Clooney leads the film as Sergeant Major Archie Gates, a cynical Special Forces officer whose command of the small squad is put to the test when they are confronted by opposing forces. It’s difficult to quantify why exactly the film works so well, but it provides an engrossing spectacle which is steeped in political outrage and anti-war sentiment.
8 ‘Gravity’ (2013)
Alfonso Cuarón’s dramatic sci-fi thriller proved to be a major hit in the 2013 awards season, with its blend of astonishing visual effects, desperate performances, and astute direction making it an unforgettable film. It follows two astronauts stranded in space after their shuttle is destroyed who must make it to the ISS before time runs out.
While Clooney was brilliant in his supporting role, it was Sandra Bullock who was the film’s true shining light. Her outstanding performance was responsible for one of 10 Academy Award nominations Gravity would receive, and it went on to win seven, dominating the technical categories with its stunning imagery.
7 ‘Syriana’ (2005)
One of the greatest highlights of Clooney’s career in film, Syriana was the film that made him an Academy Award-winning actor. Set against the backdrop of the Middle Eastern oil industry, the film is a geopolitical thriller focusing on multiple characters as the landscape of the industry shifts, having a huge effect on the people involved in it.
Clooney’s co-starring role saw the actor portray a veteran CIA agent enmeshed in a dubious assassination plot against a Saudi prince. It was a pivotal role within the film which earned both high praise and pointed criticism for its narrative complexity but was universally lauded for its ambition and its intensity.
6 ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ (2000)
The first of his comedic performances for the Coen Brothers, O Brother, Where Art Thou? still stands as George Clooney’s best collaboration with the famed directing duo. The film sees Clooney star as Ulysses Everitt McGill, one of three escaped convicts in the 1930s Deep South who searches for lost treasure and ends up singing a hit folk song all while being pursued by the law.
It thrives off the back of a fun-loving sense of off-kilter comedy and effectively introduced Clooney’s overt comedic talent to mainstream audiences. The film has become an enduring cult classic and a much-loved feature amid admirers of the Coens.
5 ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ (2001)
A rare example of a remake which surpassed the original picture, Steven Soderbergh’s infectiously fun crime-heist hit Ocean’s Eleven became an instant Hollywood classic and remains one of the most enjoyable flicks of the 21st century so far. Flaunting a slick style and a razor-sharp wit amid its high-octane thrills, it saw Clooney lead one of the greatest ensemble casts every assembled.
It follows a recently released ex-con as he forms a crew to execute a heist on three Las Vegas casinos owned by the man seeing his former wife. In addition to its snappy suaveness, it also gave Clooney the perfect chance to showcase the full degree of his charismatic prowess, and the film was better for it.
4 ‘Up in the Air’ (2009)
While Clooney has been involved in no small amount of underrated pictures, and despite scoring some Oscar nods at the time, Up in the Air might be his most underappreciated. A bitterly sharp rom-com drama from Jason Reitman, it follows a traveling corporate downsizing expert who hits the road with an idealistic young co-worker while pursuing the possibility of a romantic relationship with a businesswoman.
Clooney’s natural charisma floods the screen while every one of his co-stars, namely Anna Kendrick and Vera Faminga, play their parts to perfection. Able to be both emotional and hilarious – often at the same time – Reitman’s screenplay threw up plenty of smart twists and was wise to coast on the acting talent at its disposal.
3 ‘Michael Clayton’ (2007)
Holding one of the greatest dramatic performances of Clooney’s career, Michael Clayton thrived as an intricate legal thriller. Clooney’s titular character is a former prosecutor working as a fixer for a corporate law firm who he is given the hardest assignment of his career when he is called in to cover for a guilt-ridden attorney who broke down during a major class-action lawsuit.
In addition to its legal snappiness, writer-director Tony Gilroy also gave Clooney plenty to work with from a dramatic sense, making Clayton a complex and jaded character deep in debt to violent loan sharks. At 120 minutes long, the film keeps an enticing pace while allowing Clooney to give a grounded performance amid the wider story’s many exciting elements.
2 ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ (2009)
Based on Roald Dahl’s popular children’s book, Fantastic Mr. Fox has come to be received as a modern classic of animated cinema. From Wes Anderson, it follows a fox who, after 12 years of living peacefully alongside humans in the countryside, resorts to his animalistic tendencies and raids his neighbors’ farms, thus endangering the lives of his family and friends as the humans quickly seek retribution.
It features all of Anderson’s common quirks, from his wonderful aesthetic to his comedic style, and his ability to drum up a stellar cast, and combines them with an adorably scruffy animated presentation. Clooney voices the fantastic protagonist with aplomb.
1 ‘Out of Sight’ (1998)
The very first collaboration between Clooney and Soderbergh, Out of Sight remains something of an underrated film in both of the artists’ careers. Based on Elmore Leonard’s novel of the same name, it excels as a clever, sexy, and fun-loving amalgamation of genres, with crime, comedy, and romance all well represented.
Clooney stars alongside Jennifer Lopez, with the duo playing a career bank robber and Federal Marshall respectively who become entangled when she witnesses him escaping from prison and is abducted before she can thwart their jailbreak. As their rivalry builds, so too does their mutual attraction, making for a slick and stylish flick which never fully got the recognition it so thoroughly deserved.
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