George Clooney on Why He Has “More Fun” Directing Than Acting

George Clooney is opening up about why he has “more fun” directing than he does acting.

The Oscar winner recently spoke with Sky News about his latest directorial project, the film The Boys in the Boat.

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During the interview, Clooney admitted that when it comes to directing compared to acting, “It’s more fun, you have a lot more control. I get to boss them around and I don’t have to learn how to row,” he quipped.

The Gravity actor added, “It’s fun to come in in the morning and it’s fun to write a screenplay and then have somebody build a set that you wrote, it really is.”

While Clooney has starred in dozens of projects, including Ticket to Paradise, Up in the Air, Michael Clayton, Ocean’s Eleven and ER, he has also directed a handful of films throughout his career such as The Tender Bar, The Midnight Sky, Suburbicon and The Ides of March.

“As you get older, you need to have other things to do,” he told the outlet. “You can’t just do one thing. I’m lucky because I’m 62 and I get to do the stuff I love, and a lot of people don’t get that.”

Clooney continued, “I’m well aware of it, and I celebrate it because, you know, if I’m not having fun, I think people would be really pissed off. If they look at my life, you go, ‘If you’re not enjoying that, then, you know, then who knows.’”

But fans don’t have to stress about not seeing the actor on the big screen again as he is set to star alongside Brad Pitt in Wolfs, a film from writer-director Jon Watts.

“I still like acting, I have fun,” Clooney said before joking with a deadpan expression, “I just did a film with Brad Pitt, he’s an up-and-coming actor.”

Clooney’s The Boys in the Boat, based on the University of Washington’s rowing team’s journey to winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, is currently playing in theaters.

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