George Clooney delivers a raw, emotional performance in “Jay Kelly,” reflecting on his career and legacy through a unique blend of reality and fiction at an Italian film festival.
George Clooney stars as Jay Kelly, an aging movie star facing a midlife crisis and embarking on a journey of self-reflection in Noah Baumbach’s new film “Jay Kelly.” This existential crisis leads him from Paris to Rome for an Italian film festival where he is honored with a lifetime achievement award. The movie finale shows Jay getting emotional as he watches a tribute reel of his career. The retrospective includes real clips from Clooney’s own movies, starting with early roles featuring a young Clooney in projects like “Combat Academy” and “Sunset Beat,” leading up to his standout work in “ER” and “Syriana,” as well as his Screen Actors Guild award-winning performances.
Actor George Clooney at the 81st Venice International Film Festival
Photo credit: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
What did it feel like for Clooney, now an A-list celebrity and son of broadcaster Nick Clooney, to act as Jay watching moments from Clooney’s own career play out? The actor adds a unique twist to the story.
“Imagine this,” Clooney says with a grin. “We debuted it at the Venice Film Festival. There I was, sitting at an Italian film festival watching myself on screen watching myself at an Italian film festival. I had no idea he was going to include scenes from my actual movies, and I didn’t see it coming. What you see in the film is my honest unfiltered reaction – it was truly a first take.”
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Baumbach clears this up. “It was always part of the plan,” the director laughs. “I think he might’ve been ignoring that little detail. I put the montage together during production so he wouldn’t know about it until we were filming. I wanted his real reaction in the moment.”
In the movie, this scene holds great importance to Jay. He watches the tribute reel and gains a fresh view of his journey, accomplishments, and past mistakes. After the montage ends, he looks into the camera and asks, “Can I go again? I’d like another one.” This request reflects the film’s beginning where Jay asks for one more take of his movie’s final shot.
Fans of Clooney will find this part especially touching as it offers a deeper look at his career and some of his cherished roles, including his Broadway production debut and collaborations with long-time business partner Grant Heslov. The moment had a strong emotional impact on Clooney as well. Those were real tears, not staged.
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“At 64, emotions come easily,” Clooney shares. “When I watch my movies, I’m not just watching a film. I’m revisiting moments spent with directors and cast, including great talents like Laura Dern and Adam Sandler. It feels like flipping through a personal photo book.”
Baumbach thanks Clooney for being open and raw during the scene, saying it was the first time Clooney reacted to reliving his life on screen. “A moment like that carries a lot of emotional significance for someone like George Clooney, who comes from a showbiz family including his aunt, the legendary Rosemary Clooney,” the director remarks. “Even so, he managed to balance that deep connection while staying faithful to his character’s story.”
Amal and George Clooney at the 2024 Venice Film Festival
Photo credit: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Billy Crudup, who is also part of the film festival scene, praises the creative choice and shares that the scene operates on many interesting layers of self-reference. He compares it to the work of contemporary filmmakers like Greta Gerwig, known for their meta-narratives.
Thinking back to an earlier part of the movie when a fan says to Jay on an Italian train from Paris to Rome, “When I look at you, I see my whole life,” Crudup makes a thoughtful comparison. He describes the moment as moving. He feels it strikes a chord with moviegoers who have followed certain actors for years. Watching a retrospective of an actor’s career feels powerful because those actors have shared important moments in the audience’s lives.
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The film’s unique blend of reality and fiction, coupled with Clooney’s raw performance, has already generated Oscar buzz. This character study of an aging movie star grappling with his legacy and confronting past mistakes offers a poignant look at the complexities of a life spent in show business, making “Jay Kelly” a standout in Clooney’s illustrious career.
Source:
Brian Trutt (Dec.6, 2025). George Clooney’s tears were real in “Jay Kelly’s finale. The actor explains. USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2025/12/06/george-clooney-jay-kelly-finale/87489302007/
Header photo:
Actor George Clooney at the 81st Venice International Film Festival
Photo credit: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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