George Clooney hails Adam Sandler as a ‘beautiful, wonderful actor’
In a chat about their years-long friendship on and off sets, George Clooney has hailed Adam Sandler as a “beautiful, wonderful actor”.
George Clooney has hailed Adam Sandler as a “beautiful, wonderful actor”.
The former ER actor, 63, made the declaration as he spoke to People about working with comic Adam, 58, on their upcoming film Jay Kelly, directed by Noah Baumbach.
George gushed: “I kept telling the cast, ‘Don’t call him Sand Man. Don’t talk to him like he’s just some goofy comedian. He’s actually a really beautiful, wonderful actor.’”
Even though George and Adam have been friends for years, Jay Kelly marks their first time they have acted together – an experience both say deepened their mutual respect and friendship.
The comedy-drama sees George star as Jay Kelly, a famous actor who embarks on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey alongside his long-time friend and manager, Ron, played by Adam. According to the film’s synopsis, the two men confront questions about their choices, relationships and legacies – a premise that resonated with Adam immediately after hearing it from Baumbach.
“The sell was clear,” Adam said in a joint interview with George for People.
He added: “My character loves George’s character so much, and I thought that would be fun to do and easy to do with George. And as a guy who’s an actor who’d live a similar life to Jay Kelly, it’s a crazy depiction – how accurate a lot of it is.”
The friendship between George and Adam extended well beyond the script.
Adam said: “He invited my family everywhere, every place in Italy and England.
“Our trailers were next to each other. His friends and my friends all hung out, shot hoops, threw the baseball around, talked about other movies we like, other comedians that have made us laugh, his upbringing, my upbringing.”
Though widely known for his comedic work, Adam added the tone of Jay Kelly proved more intense at times.
He said: “It was heavy.”
George also praised Sandler’s ability to shift into deeper emotional territory, comparing his performance to that in Uncut Gems, the 2019 thriller directed by Josh and Benny Safdie.
He said: “Because of what his paycheck is, which is doing big goofy comedies, when he does these other, beautiful, Uncut Gems kinds of movies, it reminds people of that.
“He’s not just a good comedian.”
Jay Kelly will open in select cinemas on 14 November before arriving on Netflix on 5 December.
