George Clooney explains he hates directing himself

George Clooney revealed that one of the most challenging aspects of his career is directing films in which he stars too.

In a recent conversation about his latest project, Jay Kelly, Clooney confessed that he finds the dual role exhausting and creatively limiting.

"It's terrible," Clooney confessed on Entertainment Weekly's Around the Table.

Joined by Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Emily Mortimer, and Baumbach, Amal Clooney’s husband explained, “Because you're breaking one cardinal rule actors can't do to actors, which is, if you and I are doing a scene and I'm directing it and we do the scene, the one cardinal rule is I can't tell you what to do [as an actor]. But then you're the director. You go, 'Okay, that was good, but maybe a little faster,' which is such a s--- thing to do.' So, usually I have to talk to the actors. I'm going, 'I really apologize for this.'"

Clooney has directed several films over the years, including Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), The Ides of March (2011), and most recently The Boys in the Boat (2023).

The 64-year-old joined by others on the roundtable reflected on mentorship, career challenges and the lessons learned from decades in Hollywood.