Why George Clooney turned down an offer to make $35 million in a day

George Clooney
(Image credit: TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

George Clooney once had the chance to make $35 million for a single day of work. His response? Thanks, but no thanks.

The Oscar-winning actor revealed in an interview with The Guardian he was offered a $35 million payday "for one day's work for an airline commercial," but he discussed the opportunity with his wife, Amal Clooney, and decided to turn it down.

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Clooney offered the anecdote after the interviewer bluntly asked if he ever thinks to himself, "You know what? I think I have enough money now." This was apparently an accurate assessment, as the actor responded, "Well, yeah." Clooney, who the website Celebrity Net Worth claims is worth around $500 million, previously revealed to GQ that he once gave 14 of his closest friends $1 million each in cash after making quite a bit of money for his 2013 film Gravity.

"I thought, you know, without them I don't have any of this," Clooney told GQ. "And we're all really close, and I just thought basically if I get hit by a bus, they're all in the will. So why the f--- am I waiting to get hit by a bus?"

Clooney and The Guardian also discussed his new Ben Affleck film The Tender Bar, describing it as "such a kind story" that he wanted to direct especially because "the whole country, for the last five years, has been engaged in hate and anger, and I've been part of it at times. ... and I thought maybe an audience would want to be part of a gentle experience."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.