George Clooney made a film trilogy based on an old Rat Pack movie, Ocean’s 11, and he was a fitting guy to do it. That’s because Clooney an actor who has always had something of an air of old Hollywood about him. Hard drinking has always been a part of that image and, while at 64 years old, the actor may not drink like he used to, he apparently got completely smashed at the Tony Awards this year. The A-lister doesn’t mind admitting it either.
In a new profile for Esquire, George Clooney reveals he almost completely stopped drinking during the six-month period he was rehearsing and performing Good Night and Good Luck on Broadway (for which he also dyed his hair). However, following the Tony Awards, where the show was nominated for multiple awards, Clooney decided to celebrate, and he really went for it. As he recalled…
I got blasted. Barely-walking drunk, you know? Came home with Amal, and I was just laughing. We’re lying in bed, and I go, Well, I caught up for all my abstinence in one night. I was sick all day the next day; it was hysterical. I was like high school drunk. Like dumbass drunk.
George Clooney and alcohol have a strong history together. He’s not necessarily known as a party animal who has ever drank like this a lot. However, the guy once owned a tequila company before he sold it for a billion dollars, so his connection to booze will always be strongly established.
The Wolfs star said that because of the way alcohol can impact a person’s sleep, as well as their voice, he almost entirely gave up drinking to make sure he’d be able to perform on stage for so many nights. Once he was done, however, he apparently felt the need to catch up on everything he missed.
Drinking so much that you spend the next day sick can happen at any age, but it’s certainly going to be a rougher ride at 64. Still, Clooney apparently thought the entire experience was hilarious. A lot of stars wouldn’t necessarily talk in public about the time they got falling-down drunk after a major awards show, but Clooney certainly doesn’t feel embarrassed about it at all.
Whether it’s occasionally drinking like he’s a younger man or playing pranks on his friends, George Clooney is someone who clearly never lets his age get in the way of having fun. One expects that if the planned Ocean’s 11 sequel that is currently in development gets underway, Clooney and all his friends will have a lot of fun together. I could see there being plenty of drinking then, too, though hopefully not so much that Clooney has to go to work hungover. He’s too old for that.
Check out Clooney’s latest film, Jay Kelly, which opens in select theaters on November 14 and will be streamable with a Netflix subscription starting December 5.