George Clooney Reveals the Failure He Learned the Most from in His Life — and, Yes, It's "That" Movie from the '90s (Exclusive) Brian Anthony Hernandez, Alex CramerNovember 16, 2025 at 9:00 PM 0 Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock George Clooeny at the 'Jay Kelly' premiere in Los Angeles on Nov. 11, 2025 George Clooney revealed the failure he learned the most from in his career in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE "You don't learn from succeeding — you learn from failing, and then you have to figure it out along the way," the actor said Clooney has routinely criticized the project he considers...
- - George Clooney Reveals the Failure He Learned the Most from in His Life — and, Yes, It's "That" Movie from the '90s (Exclusive)
Brian Anthony Hernandez, Alex CramerNovember 16, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
George Clooeny at the 'Jay Kelly' premiere in Los Angeles on Nov. 11, 2025 -
George Clooney revealed the failure he learned the most from in his career in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE
"You don't learn from succeeding — you learn from failing, and then you have to figure it out along the way," the actor said
Clooney has routinely criticized the project he considers a failure
George Clooney still considers Batman & Robin to be a failure.
Speaking with PEOPLE and other media during a group interview at the Los Angeles premiere of his latest film, Jay Kelly, at the Egyptian Theatre on Nov. 11, the actor admitted that the 1997 movie was a lesson he learned the most from in his life.
"Batman & Robin! I learned a lot [from] that one," Clooney, 64, said of the superhero film that was critically panned, earned 11 Razzie Awards nominations and currently holds a low review of 11% on Rotten Tomatoes.
He continued, "You don't learn from succeeding — you learn from failing, and then you have to figure it out along the way, so it's helpful."
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Alicia Silverstone, George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell for 'Batman & Robin' (1997)
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The Gravity star has joined critics in panning his performance as Batman/Bruce Wayne and the Batman & Robin film over the years.
In 2019, Clooney admitted that the film was a "failure" and influenced the work he would choose to do in the years to come.
"I wasn't good in it, it wasn't a good film," he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "What I learned from that failure was that I had to relearn how I was working. Now, I wasn't just an actor getting a role, I was being held responsible for the film itself. So the next three films I did were Three Kings, Out of Sight and O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
He added, "That was a very specific choice for me to find better projects."
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George Clooney in 'Jay Kelly' (2025)
In 2021, Clooney said, per Variety, that his wife, Amal Clooney, "won't let me watch" Batman & Robin.
The actor then quipped, "There are certain films I just go, 'I want my wife to have some respect for me.' "
The couple are parents to 8-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella.
Years after Batman & Robin was released, Clooney would find critical success for 2005's Syriana, which earned him the Oscar for Actor in a Supporting Role. In his acceptance speech, he gave a quick nod to his Batman role.
"It's a funny thing about winning an Academy Award, this will always be sort of synonymous with your name from here on in," he said, before jokingly adding, "It will be: Oscar winner George Clooney, Sexiest Man Alive 1997, Batman, died today in a freak accident ..."
Jay Kelly — the Noah Baumbach-directed comedy drama, also starring Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Billy Crudup — is now playing in theaters.
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Source: Entertainment
Published: November 17, 2025 at 07:45AM on Source: RED MAG
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