A month after director Quentin Tarantino made headlines for slamming actors Paul Dano, Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard, George Clooney is clarifying his position.
“By the way, it’s an honor to work with Paul Dano, Owen Wilson, Matthew Lillard, all these actors. It’s an honor,” Clooney said Saturday as he accepted the Best Actor award at the AARP Film Awards for Adults. He said “Jay Kelly” was “made by people who love actors. That’s the important part. People I’ve known most of my life…actually, most of them are actors. I feel very close to (them). And I don’t like to see people be cruel.”
“We live in cruel times,” Starr continued. “No need to add to this.”
In December 2025, Tarantino made headlines with various allegations against Dano, Wilson, and Lillard. The Pulp Fiction director called Dano “the weakest shitty actor in SAG,” said he “couldn’t stand” Wilson and said he didn’t care about Lillard. In 2024, the director also took a shot at Clooney, claiming that the Oscar-winning actor was not a movie star. The two previously co-starred in the 1996 Robert Rodriguez film From Dusk Till Dawn.
“Quentin has said some horrible things about me recently, so I’m a little annoyed with him,” Clooney told GQ. “He did an interview where he named a movie star, and he was talking about (Brad) or someone else. And this guy said, ‘So what about George?'” He says, he’s not a movie star. ”
In the same interview, Clooney added, “It was a great time as a young actor,” and he probably still stands by that statement. At the Film Awards for Adults, the actor joked, “The only way I’m going to win anything is if Timothée Chalamet is too fucking young.”
While accepting his award, Clooney expressed his gratitude for working with director Noah Baumbach on Jay Kelly. “The script is great,” he said. “I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to get this role,” he said, adding that he “couldn’t believe how lucky” he was to be reunited with Laura Darnes, his co-star in his first film, Grizzly II: The Revenge. “It’s going to be a long and difficult two years, but let’s all work together and get through it,” he concluded.
Clooney’s former “ER” co-star Noah Wyle presented Clooney with the award. When Wylie won Best Actor for The Pit, Clooney returned the favor, joking that AARP should do a “Sexiest Man Alive” feature. “I would name Noah Wyle as the first guy,” Clooney said. “When I grow up, I want to be Noah Wyle.”
The annual AARP Adult Film Awards, which celebrate entertainment by and for people 50 and older, will premiere on PBS’s “Great Performances” on Feb. 22. See the complete list of winners here.
