George Clooney Has Strong Feelings About Hollywood De-Aging Actors

De-aging technology has become somewhat commonplace for Hollywood productions, and that’s something George Clooney is aware of. That method has been used in various films at this point, but not all directors utilize such tech when given the chance. That was the case with Clooney’s 2025 movie release, Jay Kelly, as writer/director Noah Baumbach opted to instead cast another actor to play a younger version of Clooney’s eponymous character. And, based on his chat with CinemaBlend, Clooney was very happy to avoid being de-aged.

In addition to Clooney, Charlie Rowe plays the titular Jay Kelly for a limited portion of the movie. That’s an interesting (and admittedly, refreshing) move on Baumbach’s part, considering he could’ve opted to use visual effects to make Clooney appear like his younger self. CinemaBlend recently asked Clooney about that decision, and he revealed there was a discussion about which route the creative team should take. The Oscar winner also revealed a few technical reasons as to why he was pleased with another actor playing Jay.