George Clooney: 'I'm Getting Too Old For Acting'

George Clooney has admitted his long-term future might be in directing, not acting.

The Hollywood star was speaking at the London premiere of his new film The Monuments Men , which he has also produced, directed, and co-written.

He told Sky News that he was preparing for a time when acting roles are harder to come by.

"I think you have to as you get older," he said.

"You have to have a fall back position for when people get sick of seeing you in front of the camera.

"But directing is something I've been doing for years and it's something I enjoy."

The Monuments Men has an all-star cast comprising of Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville and Cate Blanchett, as well as George Clooney.

It is the fifth film Clooney has directed, and the sixth time he has starred alongside Matt Damon.

The film tells the story of an ageing group of art curators, historians and architects who risked their lives in the final years of the Second World War to retrieve millions of sculptures and paintings stolen by the Nazis.

Speaking to Sky News, Damon said: "The oldest one was 66 years old.

"They had comfortable lives and distinguished careers, they were big figures in the art world, and they gave all of that up to go to the front at great personal risk, and some of them died to protect as much of the art work as they could.

"I think that’s a beautiful, incredible thing that they did."

Cate Blanchett said: "These men were spurred on by a higher ideal.

"So many of the works that we take for granted in the great museums of the world were returned by this band of men - it was a near impossible task."

Among the many millions of stolen items were works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Van Eyck, Vermeer, Picasso and more.

The film focuses largely on two works - the Bruges Madonna (Michelangelo) and the Ghent Altarpiece (Van Eyck).

Nazi-looted art is still being discovered all the time - a stash worth around €1bn was discovered in a Munich apartment in 2013.

The Monuments Men - which has received mixed reviews from film critics - is released in UK cinemas on February 14.

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