George Clooney has reportedly been forced to scale back his schedule at the Venice Film Festival after falling ill on its opening day.
The 64-year-old star of Noah Baumbach’s competition film Jay Kelly abruptly ended his Wednesday press junket and skipped a private dinner with the cast and crew, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Sources said Clooney began feeling unwell in the afternoon and was advised to return home and rest before a busier slate of appearances.
He was photographed boarding a boat and leaving the Hotel Excelsior around 4 p.m. to recuperate ahead of Thursday’s official press conference and the world premiere of Jay Kelly.
While the nature of his ailment has not been disclosed, insiders emphasized that it was not serious.
His absence meant missing a dinner that brought together Baumbach, co-stars Adam Sandler and Laura Dern, and senior Netflix executives.
Just hours earlier, Clooney had been seen arriving at the Lido with Dern, looking effortlessly stylish in a navy suit, striped shirt, and tinted sunglasses, showing no signs of discomfort.
The sudden change came only days after Clooney and his wife Amal hosted his co-stars at their $100 million Lake Como estate, Villa Oleandra.
The couple, along with their eight-year-old twins Ella and Alexander, welcomed Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig, Adam Sandler, and Eve Hewson, among others, treating them to a boat ride across the lake and a lunch at Villa d’Este before heading to Venice.
Jay Kelly, directed by Gerwig’s husband Baumbach, sees Clooney take on the role of a Hollywood actor who has spent his career playing versions of himself.
The film follows Jay and his loyal manager Ron, played by Sandler, on a journey through Europe that forces them to reckon with fame, family, and legacy.
The supporting cast includes Laura Dern, Jim Broadbent, Isla Fisher, Billy Crudup, and Lenny Henry, with Netflix releasing the film worldwide on December 5.
In the trailer, Clooney’s character is confronted with accusations of never stretching beyond his own persona, to which he tartly replies: ‘You know how difficult it is to be yourself? You try it.’
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair to promote the upcoming film, Clooney spoke about his co-star Adam Sandler being a ‘beautiful, heartfelt and soulful actor’.
‘I kept telling the cast, “Don’t call him Sand Man. Don’t talk to him like he’s just some goofy comedian. He’s actually a really beautiful, wonderful actor”. Because of what his pay check is, which is doing big goofy comedies, when he does these other, beautiful, Uncut Gems kinds of movies, it reminds people of that. He’s not just a good comedian,’ he said.
The actor was then asked about people who criticise his own versatility, with the actor not mincing his words.
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‘Do people say that I only play myself? I don’t give a s***,’ he said. There aren’t that many guys in my age group that are allowed to do both broad comedies like O Brother [Where Art Though?] and then do Michael Clayton or Syriana. So, if that means I’m playing myself all the time, I don’t give a s***,’ he said.
He went on: ‘I’ve been the beneficiary of having my career not be massively successful in lots of different directions. I didn’t really get successful, in the kind of success that can be blinding, until I was 33 years old [when ER began]. I’d been working for 12 years at that point. I had a real understanding of how fleeting all of it is and how little it has to do with you, quite honestly.’
Over his career Clooney has picked up numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award and four Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.
Although his illness kept him from the opening-day spotlight, Clooney is still expected to return for the festival’s press conference and red-carpet premiere.
For Venice, where glamour and celebrity tradition run deep, his appearance remains one of the most eagerly awaited of the event.
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