George Clooney discussed Jay Kelly, his character’s Kentucky roots, and his candid thoughts on aging during a recent press conference for Critics Choice Association members. Clooney joined director Noah Baumbach and co-stars Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Emily Mortimer during the November 11 press conference.

Jay Kelly, the new film from Noah Baumbach, is a dramedy that follows movie star Jay Kelly (George Clooney) on a journey of self-discovery as he confronts both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager Ron Sukenick (Adam Sandler). The film blends humor and heart, delivering a story that is at once intimate and epic, exploring the fine line between triumphs and regrets.

Directed by Noah Baumbach and co-written by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, Jay Kelly stars George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, Greta Gerwig, Alba Rohrwacher, Josh Hamilton, Lenny Henry, Emily Mortimer, Nicôle Lecky, Thaddea Graham, Isla Fisher, Louis Partridge, and Charlie Rowe.

The following features spoilers for Jay Kelly.

Being a Kentucky native.

George Clooney: Yes.

And a fellow NKU student.

George Clooney: Yeah. Oh, you’re an NKU student?

I graduated in 2007.

George Clooney: Oh, okay.

So I did meet your parents in 2004 during the campaign.

George Clooney: Are you kidding? When my dad was running for Congress. Yeah.

Yeah. So I grew up watching your career play out on screen, especially as you made that transition from TV to movies.

George Clooney: Yeah.

In playing a movie star in Jay Kelly, I’m curious to know how much you learned about yourself during the making the film, and if Jay was originally written to be a Kentucky native, or if that was something that was added after you joined on.

George Clooney: Well, Emily and Noah, when they were working on the script, they were working on it with me in mind, which I don’t quite understand. ’Cause I think he was kind of a jerk. And now I’m worried. Now I’m worried about myself.

Adam Sandler: Likable, though. Likable.

George Clooney: A likable jerk. Yes. Which is what a lot of my friends call me. I think as the scripts kept coming in, you kept adding little things like Kentucky or George Clooney for president, Jay Kelly for president, that kind of crap, that made me laugh. So they were adding little bits along the way.

And so, I would laugh every time something else would come in, I go, oh G-d, this is getting closer. But again, I didn’t know that—for instance, that montage at the end, I didn’t know it was gonna be my actual movies. And until the day we were shooting, and that what you see on screen is the first shot in the movie is like me watching myself rapidly age in a four-minute montage.

Because that’s another funny thing, you’re talking about your younger self. I don’t know how you guys feel about this, but you don’t really see yourself age. Right? You’re looking at the thing and think you still look like you did when you were 16 years old. Yeah, I still got my act together. [laugh] I think you’ll see some picture, you go, who’s that old fucker? And you’re like, oh, that’s me.

So part of this was, you don’t learn that much about yourself. You sort of are just enjoying exploring really beautifully written characters with really wonderful actors and an amazing director.

Netflix released Jay Kelly in theaters on November 14, 2025 and will start streaming the film on December 5.

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