He had roles in no less than 15 failed pilots, and still hung in there. After he was lampooned in the movie Team America: World Police, he said he would have been offended if they hadn't made fun of him. He's been awarded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.In the coming months, I'll delve deeper into why George Clooney is The Man. But for now, on this, the holiest of holidays here in Hollywood – Oscar Sunday – let's take a look at the greatest award speech ever given, after he was named Best Actor in a Supporting Role, in 2006:
"Wow. Wow. All right, so I'm not winning director. It's the funny thing about winning an Academy Award– it will always be synonymous with your name from here on in. It will be Oscar winner, George Clooney. Sexiest Man Alive, 1997. Batman died today in a freak accident at a... listen, I don't know how you compare art. You look at these performances this year, of these actors, and unless we all did the same role, everybody put on a bat suit, and we'll all try that. Unless we all did the same role, I don't how you compare it. They are stellar performances and wonderful work, and I'm honored, truly honored to be up here. And finally, I would say that, you know, we are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while. I think it's probably a good thing. We're the ones who talk about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn't very popular. And we, you know, we bring up subjects. This Academy, this group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were all sitting in the backs of theaters. I'm proud to be a part of this Academy. Proud to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch. And I thank you so much for this."
He didn't thank his woman, his director or his agent. He questioned how deserving he was. He referenced one of his most embarrassing roles – Batman – not once, but twice. And he dispelled the myth that the entertainment industry is chock full of pure egotism.
A Nike ad once summed up my feelings very succinctly: have heroes.
