George Clooney on "Jay Kelly," fame and family

Venice can feel like a movie set, especially when you're boating on the Grand Canal with George Clooney.

Waving to fans, he asked if this would ever become normal. “No,” he replied.

George Clooney with correspondent Seth Doan in Venice.

CBS News

Clooney has a history of managing this kind of attention. He directed about 50 films, receiving a couple of Academy Awards during this time (as an actor in “Syriana” and as a producer in “Argo”). And in his latest film, Jay Kelly, he plays one of the world's biggest movie stars – a familiar role.

He says it's true that he agreed to the film within 24 hours. “Well, I read this and thought: Well, now that I think about it, they might go after Brad. And I can't have it. I can't let this happen, man! When you read something, you know it.”

The Netflix film, starring Adam Sandler and Laura Dern, takes on the cult of celebrity as Clooney's character embarks on a journey to reconcile his professional success and personal failures.

I asked, “It's kind of an overwhelming experience where you watch the movie and wonder how important the character is and how important George Clooney is. Did you feel it while doing it?”

“I didn’t actually do it,” Clooney said. “You know, I know that in life you can live with failures. I tried this, it didn't work. What you can't live with is regret. Jay Kelly is full of regret. I mean, if I get hit by a bus tomorrow, I won't regret it. I've definitely made mistakes. I've definitely done some stupid things. But I took a big bite out of the apple and swung it really hard.”

JAY KELLY — George Clooney as a movie star gets a career tribute in Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly.

Peter Mountain/Netflix

“Were there things that seemed autobiographical?”

“I mean, there are things that we would laugh at, you know, playing the guy that no one says no to.”

– And this concerns you?

“Well, I designed it so that it wouldn't be like that.”

How? “I pay people!” he laughed. “No, I created this by surrounding myself with the same friends I met when I was 20… I talk to them every day.”

“Are you struggling to understand that there is a tangible gap between you and others?”

“Yes,” Clooney said. “I didn’t grow up surrounded by fame. I mean, my father was a newscaster in Cincinnati, Ohio. My aunt [Rosemary Clooney] was a famous singer, but I met her three times. So, when I met someone famous, I always thought: My God! So I always try to remind people that, honestly, I do this work and that, you know, we're all pretty normal people.”

“Why is this so important to you?” I asked.

“I think the way I was raised, not only do you treat everyone the same, but everyone treats you the same.”

Clooney is quite disarming, as we saw during the interview prep. When asked if he wanted to check how he looked on camera, he smiled: “No, I don’t care. I'm too old to find fault anymore.”

“For many, you are a kind of example of graceful aging.”

“That’s why I wear these glasses,” Clooney said, “because, FYI, I have a terrible sinus infection. If I take them off…” He showed us. “Do you see the problem?”

George Clooney, with glasses… and without.

CBS News

“How much does aging affect… Do you see the details changing?”

“I see parts of my body changing,” he replied. “I’m like, did it fall? How did it fall?

“That's not what I meant.”

“Yes, of course, the details have changed significantly.”

Now 64, he is married to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin. The two juggle Hollywood glamor and social justice through their foundation. They have eight-year-old twins, and the actor (once known for being single) says he's happy with family life—another thing that sets him apart from the character. “Glory, [Jay] actually does it very well. And in some ways I’m the complete opposite of that.”

What do you mean? “I feel like I’m a better parent, I hope my husband is, of course. And glory, if it was one of the two, it would be the one I would be least comfortable with.”

“Wow, you seem pretty comfortable with fame and celebrity,” I said.

“Well, you know, you should wear your famous outfit when you come here to the movie premiere.”

“But you know, wherever you go, people are watching you. Is this a performance?

“Sometimes it’s performative,” Clooney responded. “I mean, look, you don’t get caught picking your nose, you know? You have to be more aware than other people.”

I asked, “You seem to have a desire to keep some things for yourself, but you can also be very political and really stand out.”

“Sometimes yes,” Clooney said. “I try to do it when I think I have a responsibility to do it. My father always told me to challenge people who have more power than you and to protect people with less power. One of the things you realize is that you can't fight every battle. You have to choose things. I tried to help solve some problems in Darfur in the early 2000s. I'm still involved.”

He doesn't regret what he wrote either. this article in The New York Timescalling on President Biden to quit the party. “Not to do this is to say that I am not going to tell the truth,” he said.

Although Clooney does not shy away from public activity, he is helped to protect his privacy in his family home in Italy: “In Italian cities you are adopted. For example, people come up and ask, “Which house does George Clooney own?” They say, “Hey, he doesn't live here, no.” They protect you.”

Clooney now considers France his home. “We live on a 750-acre farm and our kids run around. We wanted them to have some sort of normal existence.”

“And you found this on a 750-acre ranch?”

“Well, you find it on a farm, in a very small school and in a very quaint farming community. There we found real peace.”

He values this world. In the film, Jay Kelly is looking for what George Clooney already has: self-esteem and balance. It seems Clooney really has it all.

I said, “If people say: What was it like being with George Clooney? One of the things I want to say is that I was sitting here and I was sweating, and for some reason he didn’t seem to be sweating.”

“I don’t sweat!” Clooney laughed. “Funny thing. I don't sweat much when I'm on camera, oddly enough. I don't know why. I put ice cubes under my arms!”

But like all of us, he still has to struggle with the passage of time. “I want to work, but I don’t want to fill my life with work,” he said. “When I turned 60, Amal and I talked about it and I said, 'Look, I can still play basketball with the boys, I can still hang out. But in 25 years I will be 85. And this is a real number.”

“And things change, and it doesn’t matter how many granola bars you eat; it hooks you. So, we have to focus on making sure that we are working. We also need to focus on spending time with the people we love.” More time, because at the end of life you don't leave, I would like to work more.“

To watch the Jay Kelly trailer, click on the video player below: