George Clooney unloads on 'rotten' 2020 but is excited about election: 'I think Joe Biden is the right man'

George Clooney has long insisted he’ll never enter politics. Still, there are few entertainers whose opinions draw as much attention and regard as the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker who doubles as an activist and social conscience of progressive Hollywood.

During an interview with Yahoo Entertainment this week promoting his upcoming Netflix feature The Midnight Sky — a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller steeped in protect-the-Earth allegory — the conversation then naturally steered into the star’s feelings about the , from the devastating coronavirus pandemic to widespread civil unrest to a historically fraught presidential election.

“2020 was a pretty rotten year, all the way around,” Clooney says (watch above). “Starting with Kobe Bryant dying. It’s been one catastrophe after another. And all the racial unrest with the George Floyd killing and Breonna Taylor. We’ve had all of these things that have just felt oppressive towards us. I see a lot of light at the end of these tunnels.”

Clooney draws optimism from the multiple coronavirus vaccines nearing release, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden’s decisive defeat over one-term incumbent Donald Trump, who the actor-director previously called “in over his head in a devastating way” and “unqualified.”

“If you’re a Democrat, then it feels really good to have Jan. 20 coming around,” Clooney says of Biden’s forthcoming inauguration. “I’m excited to have someone who is in charge of our government that doesn’t call the press ‘the enemy of the people,’ quite honestly. I think it’s important that we move in that direction.”

It’s no surprise to hear Clooney is eagerly anticipating Biden’s presidency after joining former commander-in-chief Barack Obama for a virtual fundraiser in July.

“We put ourselves in these situations, and we can get ourselves out of them. These are man-made problems so we can unmake them.

“I think Joe Biden is the right man. Sometimes the moment meets the man, and I think this might be his moment. I’m excited about it.”

The Midnight Sky premiers Dec. 23 on Netflix. Look for our full interview to come.

Watch the trailer:

-Video produced by Jon San and edited by John Santo

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

• George Clooney recalls asking wife Amal to marry him: 'I was on my knee for like 20 minutes'

• George Clooney talks family life in quarantine: 'I feel like my mother in 1964'

• George Clooney ruined David Oyelowo's 'mind-blowingly moving' moment with Barack Obama