Actor George Clooney and lawyer Amal Clooney enter the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum on May 07, 2018 in New York City© Getty Images

George Clooney shares rare statement about 'trying to protect' twins Ella and Alexander, 7, with wife Amal

The Wolfs actor quietly raises his kids with Amal away from the spotlight, mostly in Italy and France

Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
August 13, 2024

George and Amal Clooney are exceedingly private when it comes to their two children, seven-year-old twins Ella and Alexander, and will make great efforts to keep them away from the public eye.

The actor and filmmaker, 63, and his accomplished lawyer wife, 46, quietly raise their kids out of the spotlight in Europe, often flitting between their many properties in France and Italy, and George is sharing rare insight into their lives.

He sat down for a new interview with GQ alongside his close friend Brad Pitt, with whom he will star in the upcoming comedy-thriller Wolfs, and the pair spoke candidly about the trappings of fame. Watch the trailer for Wolfs below...

Brad Pitt and George Clooney reunite for "Wolfs"

George shared his take on being so famous it's hard to not be swarmed when in public, saying he believed Brad often had it worse. He elaborated on that extending to his twins, and wanting to avoid them getting photographed.

"A lot of people — even who reach a fairly high level of fame — find a way to be able to kind of live a normal life, walk around the streets of New York without being followed and stuff like that," he continued. 

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The actor shares twins Ella and Alexander with wife Amal Clooney

"And there's, I dunno, five or six of us where it's just never subsided. And there's never been that like, 'Hey, let's take a walk through Central Park and not get hammered.' It just hasn’t happened yet. It will, obviously. But it hasn't happened yet." 

MORE: George and Amal Clooney return to meaningful spot — all about their favorite date night destination

The Syriana star spoke about wanting to "protect" his kids and not have their images be out there, given the humanitarian work he and Amal often engage in. "I have a goal of trying to protect, I don't want pictures of my kids." 

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The close friends spoke about living their lives with a lack of privacy

"We deal in very serious subject matters, with very serious bad guys, and we don't want to have photos of our kids out there. So we have to work hard at trying to stay private, and it's tricky, as you can imagine."

MORE: George Clooney's Lake Como villa he seldom visits is now worth 10x more

Earlier in the conversation, George also spoke about focusing more on acting rather than directing, to give his kids (who joined the conversation at one point and excitedly played with their uncle Brad) the opportunity to remain at home and go to school rather than be on set with him while he's also directing.

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George will make his Broadway debut in Spring 2025 with an adaptation of his film "Good Night, and Good Luck"

"The main reason is that it is a year on the road to direct, and now my kids are of a certain age," he explained. "We're not going to uproot our kids out of school and run around. Before that, they could just come with us and we would all go. But that's different now."

MORE: George and Amal Clooney's privacy measures to protect 'peaceful' life in Provence

He also excitedly spoke about making his Broadway debut next year with the adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, wanting to devote as much time before then to his kids and wife before moving to New York for a few months.

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"We deal in very serious subject matters, with very serious bad guys, and we don't want to have photos of our kids out there."

"I won't do another thing. I'm going to give myself time with my kids. I really enjoy driving them to school, and my wife and I are having a really wonderful time. So I don't want to lose all of that."

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