Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
Before Rising to Fame on ER at 33, the Two-Time Oscar Winner Earned $3.30 an Hour Working in Tobacco Fields
George Clooney isn’t shy about calling out celebrity divas on set.
In a recent interview with USA Today, the 64-year-old actor joked about performers who make extravagant or unusual demands in their riders — the lists of requirements that artists request to ensure their comfort while working. Clooney recounted a humorous incident involving a production employee and his own rider.
“I was in New York, and the driver was furious,” Clooney said. “I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ He said, ‘George, I looked everywhere for Fuji apples and couldn’t find any.’ At some point, someone had asked if I wanted anything in my trailer, and I mentioned maybe some apples. They asked what kind, and I said, ‘Fuji,’ because it was the only type I could think of. Next thing you know, it’s on your rider everywhere you go. People are climbing mountains to find Fuji apples for you. I had to tell them, ‘Take that out. You’re crazy.’”
Clooney went on to poke fun at the extreme requests some actors make, saying, “Some actors are literally ‘I only eat green M&M’s’ kind of nonsense. I grew up in Kentucky — we try to stay out of trailers. That’s not the be-all and end-all.”
The two-time Oscar winner credits his Kentucky upbringing with keeping him grounded in Hollywood. Born in Lexington to TV journalist Nick Clooney and former beauty queen Nina Bruce Warren, George spent summers working on his grandparents’ tobacco farm for modest pay. “I was a tobacco farmer. I cut tobacco for $3.30 an hour, and that’s okay,” he told Vanity Fair in 2023. “We didn’t have money, but nobody did. Nobody thought we were poor. We were just getting through the day.”
Clooney also shared with GQ that he worked in tobacco fields from ages 13 to 18, in addition to selling insurance door-to-door and working at a liquor store.
After high school, he briefly attended Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati before leaving college to pursue acting. His first taste of the profession came thanks to his cousin Miguel Ferrer, who helped him land a role as an extra on a film shooting in Kentucky. “I was walking horses at River Downs, an old racetrack near Cincinnati, when they needed extras for a horse racing movie. Miguel got me a part, and it was exciting. He told me, ‘You have to come to California to be an actor.’ I thought, ‘OK,’ and drove my beat-up Monte Carlo to California.”
Clooney recalled his parents’ reaction: “I told my mom and dad I was leaving college to become an actor. My dad said, ‘You’re an idiot,’ because he wanted me to get an education. He also said he didn’t think I had the smarts to be an actor. And now you realize that’s really not a prerequisite,” he added with a laugh.
Although Clooney enjoyed his close-knit community, he admitted he was eager to leave farm life behind and follow his passion for acting.
