George Clooney Declares He Will 'No Longer Be Kissing Girls' in Movies

George Clooney is officially closing the door on any on-screen romance.

The Ocean’s Eleven star recently revealed that he’s stepping away from steamy scenes — a decision tied to a promise he made to his wife, Amal Clooney, several years ago.

In a new interview with an outlet, the actor explained that he’s following the same path as one of his longtime role models.

“I’ve been trying to go the route Paul Newman did — ‘Okay, well, I’m not kissing a girl anymore,’” George shared, pointing to Paul’s graceful transition away from leading-man roles.

The 64-year-old added that age played a major role in his conversation with Amal.

“When I turned 60, I had a conversation with my wife. I said, ‘Look, I can still play basketball with the boys. I play with 25-year-old guys. I can still hang, I’m in shape. But in 25 years, I’m 85 years old. It doesn’t matter how many granola bars you eat, that’s a real number,’” he added.

This isn’t the first time George has spoken openly about dialing back romantic roles.

“Look, I’m 63 years old,” he said during an appearance on 60 Minutes in March. “I’m not trying to compete with 25-year-old leading men. That’s not my job. I’m not doing romantic films anymore.”

At the time, he also credited Paul as the blueprint for making that transition feel natural rather than forced.

“Paul Newman was the best at this,” George told The Washington Post in 2022. “He figured out, [with] The Verdict, quite honestly, that he was a character actor and he accepted that role. He didn’t fight it or push and try to get his face done or look younger and act younger. He just said, ‘Okay, that’s who I am now,’ and he changed expectations a little bit.”

George and Amal first met in 2013 at his home in Lake Como, Italy, before heading out on their first official date in London later that year. Their whirlwind romance led to a lavish wedding at the Aman Canal Grande Hotel in Venice in September 2014.

In another interview, George shared the now-famous story of how he proposed.

"We never talked about marriage when we were dating, and I asked her out of the blue," he recalled during a November 2020 CBS interview. "It took her a long time to say yes. I was on my knee for, like, 20 minutes. I finally said, 'Look, I'm gonna throw my hip out.' We told that story to her parents, and they're like, 'There's something wrong with his hip?'"

Though they initially didn’t plan on starting a family, Us Weekly confirmed in February 2017 that the couple was expecting. George and Amal later welcomed twins Alexander and Ella in June of that year.

After being named one of TIME Magazine’s 2022 Women of the Year, Amal reflected on their life together.

"I have in my husband a partner who is incredibly inspirational and supportive, and we have a home filled with love and laughter," she said. "It is a joy beyond anything I could ever have imagined. I feel so lucky to have found a great love in my life, and to be a mother — this is how I get my balance."