George Clooney to Receive AFI Life Achievement Award

George Clooney will be the recipient of the 46th AFI Life Achievement Award. The award will be presented to Clooney at a Gala Tribute on June 7, 2018, in Los Angeles, CA.  The AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute special will return for its sixth year with Turner Broadcasting to air on TNT, followed by encore presentations on sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Audi and VIZIO return as Official Sponsors of the event.

George Clooney is one of Hollywood’s most dynamic multi-hyphenates, a presence bigger even than his movies.  

Throughout a career spanning screens big and small, his work has earned him eight Academy Award® nominations and two wins — with nominations in the most categories ever.  He won an Oscar® for Best Supporting Actor for SYRIANA (2005), and went on to earn Best Actor nominations for MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007), UP IN THE AIR (2009) and THE DESCENDANTS (2011) — all films grounded by his signature charm, and his universal relatability.

As a film director, Clooney is as accomplished a filmmaker as he is a performer, from his directorial debut CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2002) to his multiple-Oscar®-nominated GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. (2005) and THE IDES OF MARCH (2011).  He earned a Best Picture Academy Award® for producing ARGO (2012).   

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, to a former beauty pageant queen and an anchorman, George Clooney spent much of his youth in Ohio and Kentucky.  He had dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, but did not make the cut for the Cincinnati Reds.  He was instead encouraged to pursue acting by his cousin, late actor Miguel Ferrer.

In 1984, Clooney landed his first major role on the TV sitcom E/R — not to be confused with the long-running hospital drama, ER, that would later make Clooney a household name.   

His starring role in the film OUT OF SIGHT marked the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration with one of our greatest filmmakers, Steven Soderbergh, on films including the OCEAN’S trilogy and THE GOOD GERMAN.  In 2000, he starred in the Coen brothers’ O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?, forging another iconic collaboration that continued with INTOLERABLE CRUELTY (2003), BURN AFTER READING and, most recently, HAIL, CAESAR!

In 2006, he established his reputation as a filmmaker with a distinctive vision when he was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. — the same year he received his Oscar® for SYRIANA.

In 2010, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honored him with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.