George Clooney Gave Up His 'Love' for Directing Movies So He Could Spend More Time With His Kids

George Clooney is opening up about a major career decision he made for his family.

During the 83rd Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, September 2, the 65-year-old actor and filmmaker revealed why he has stepped away from directing, even though it remains something he enjoys.

“The only reason I’m not directing, which I love doing, is because I had two 9-year-old kids and in order for me to spend time with them,” he said, referring to his twins, Ella and Alexander, whom he shares with wife Amal Clooney. “If I act in a movie, it’s three months, and I can go and come and go and come back. When you direct a movie, it’s a year wherever you are, and there’s no traveling back and forth. So I can’t do that anymore.”

Clooney was honored during the festival’s opening-night ceremony, where he received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

He earned a Best Director Oscar nomination for his 2006 filmmaking debut, Good Night, and Good Luck, and has not directed a movie since 2023’s The Boys in the Boat.

Still, George stressed that he’s not “continuing to work as a director” because of anything negative, insisting, “I’ve had great experiences.”

The actor also shared the highs and lows he encountered throughout his filmmaking career.

“I’ve been nominated for an Oscar, and I’ve also had really bad experiences, and that’s okay,” he said. “That’s part of me telling stories. People will agree and disagree.”

“I’ve done films that people hated when they came out and now they like them. I’ve done films that people liked that now they look at it and they don’t work anymore. Timing is a lot of that,” he added.

These days, George and Amal have embraced a more private lifestyle with their children in the South of France.

The family lives on an $8.3 million farm they purchased in 2021, giving the couple and their twins a break from the constant spotlight of Hollywood.

For the Ocean’s Twelve actor, the setting is also a surprising return to his roots.

“Growing up in Kentucky, all I wanted to do was get away from a farm, get away from that life,” he told The New York Times in February 2025. “Now I find myself back in that life. I drive a tractor and all those things. It’s the best chance of a normal life.”

The actor has also spoken about how the French countryside has shaped his children's everyday lives.

“You know, we live on a farm in France. A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid, I hated the whole idea of it," the ER star said. "But now, for them, it’s like — they’re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life."

The Jay Kelly alum has previously admitted he was "worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood."

"I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life," George added. "France — they kind of don’t give a s--- about fame. I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”

In December 2025, the Clooney family officially became French citizens.

However, their life in France hasn't always been completely peaceful. In July, the family was forced to evacuate their home as devastating wildfires continued to spread across Europe.