AARP Hearing Center
George Clooney, 59, will receive AARP Movies for Grownups’ highest honor, the annual Career Achievement Award, at the Movies for Grownups Awards, broadcast for the fourth consecutive year by Great Performances on PBS. This year's show is at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 28.
In his 30s, Clooney won fame — and two Emmy nominations — as Dr. Doug Ross in NBC's hit hospital drama ER. Steven Soderbergh's crime comedy Out of Sight cemented Clooney's status as a serious movie star, and launched one of Hollywood's most significant director-actor collaborations. In films as diverse as The Perfect Storm, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Rat Pack romp Ocean's Eleven and its massively popular sequels, he made films that grossed almost $2 billion and earned him two Oscars, a BAFTA award and four Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award. In 2002, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind established him as an important film director. As his gift matured, he conquered a new medium in the streaming era by producing, directing and starring in Hulu's Catch-22 and Netflix's 2020 film The Midnight Sky.
"We are delighted to honor George Clooney, an actor whose mastery — and wit — make him the Cary Grant of our day and a director who'd be famous even if we'd never seen him on-screen,” said AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins. “He personifies aging with grace by proving that, with smarts and hard work, even the most extraordinary talent can improve with time. He is a slam-dunk argument against ageism."
Clooney will receive the award at the virtual awards ceremony, which will also include recognition for 2020's best films and filmmakers, including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Television Series for Grownups and more. This is the first year that Movies for Grownups will also honor TV talent.
Clooney joins a list of previous AARP Movies for Grownups Career Achievement honorees including Annette Bening, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Shirley MacLaine, Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Susan Sarandon and Sharon Stone.
