George Clooneyis a multi-hyphenate force in Hollywood as an actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. Now he’s set his sightson conquering a different medium entirely - the Broadway stage. Clooney is starring ina new theatrical productionofGood Night, and Good Luck., adapted fromhis 2005 film of the same name. He also gets to add “playwright” to his resume, having co-written both the movie and the stage play’s scripts with Grant Heslov.
Set in 1950s America,Good Night, and Good Luck.focuses on the historic clashes between legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow and virulently anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy. The play’s synopsis reads,“As McCarthyism casts a shadow over America, Murrow and his news team choose to confront the growing tide of paranoia and propaganda, even if it means turning the federal government and a worried nation against them.”
Though the production features serious political themes,Clooney lets some good humor shine through in the Playbill bio that marks his Broadway debut. The bio also has a throwback reference to his “origin story” that’s rather sentimental - but may go unnoticed if you haven’t recently crammed for George Clooney Trivia Night. I’ve seen a lot of playbills in my time, but I haven’t seen anyone, let alone a major movie star, list their employment history in quite the way Clooney does.
Clooney’s First-Ever Broadway Bio Is Fun and Self-Effacing
And It Holds A Story About His Past For Fans Old And New
Clooney is the big-name draw behind the stage play ofGood Night, and Good Luck.He joins a celebrity-packed Broadway season, with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaaltreading the boards inOthello, Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk, Michael McKean, and Bill BurrheadliningGlengarry Glen Ross,and Sarah Snook playing a clutch of Wildean characters in the one-personThe Picture of Dorian Gray.
As shared byVanity Fairstaff writerChris Murphy on X, Clooney’s bio in theGood Night, and Good Luck.programis charmingly short - and it feels like a knowing wink at the audience.
The bio reads:
GEORGE CLOONEY (Edward R. Murrow, Playwright). George’s last time in an Equity theatre was in June of 1986, a play calledViciousat Steppenwolf Theatre. He has never appeared on Broadway so…buckle up.
Running all of 28 words in total, this has to be one of the shortest bios I’ve ever seen in a Broadway playbill. It’s also objectively funny; the joke here, of course, is thatGeorge Clooney is a massive star whose cinematic projects, awards, charity initiatives, and notable roles could span several pages, but none of those are on display. Instead, he only cites his last appearance in an Equity theatrical production - that would be in 1986, or nearly 40 years ago - and says that it’s his first time on Broadway,“so…buckle up.”
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George Clooney is a household name who has appeared in some of the most memorable movies and TV shows of all time.
Most theater program bios prominently detail the actor’s history on stage - and on screen, if they’ve crossed over. They showcase awards and nominations. Sometimes they include loving mentions of spouses, family, and friends. But there’s no shout out here to Clooney’s famously accomplished wife,international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, nor any mention of his dozens of movie roles or career-making turns on TV likeER.
This is the man who played the title character in theOcean’s 11series and was once Batman. He also has two Oscars - one a Best Supporting Actor trophy forSyrianaand another as a producer onArgo, which won Best Picture. Yet anyone coming intoGood Night, and Good Luck.unawares would only see Clooney associated with his first attention-getting stage role: a part he once described as“the comedy relief”in a searing play calledVicious, about rocker Sid Vicious, at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.
While this all seems to be in good fun, it’s worth noting thatClooney has cited his part inViciousin 1986 - when he was all of 25 years old - as his big breakthrough moment.“It was the first play where I was singled out in reviews,”he toldNew York Magazinein 2016.“I got an agent from it. I got guest shots on TV shows from it. I got my sag card from it. I always look back at that play as the turning point for me.”
So even though Clooney’s new bio feels tongue-in-cheek and cheeky for one of the biggest movie stars on Earth, I think it’s also intended as a rather touching send-up to where he came from and the play that helped launch his now-storied career.
The Role Is A First For George Clooney
In the 2005 film version ofGood Night, and Good Luck.,which Clooney also directed, he plays journalist and CBS TV producer Fred Friendly, who supports Murrow in his showdown with McCarthy.On Broadway, Clooney is embodying a different character entirely -this time, he’s taking the central role of Edward R. Murrow.The part was originally played by David Strathairn onscreen in a performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor; Clooney’s direction earned him an Oscar nomination as well. The play is directed by David Cromer, a celebrated stage director who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical forThe Band’s Visitin 2018. A sprawling cast of 20 actors join Clooney in the production, includingAvengers’Clark Gregg andBroad City’s Ilana Glazer.
Making the jump from screen back to stage is bound to feel like a significant shift for Clooney. Previews of the play began March 12th, 2025, and it officially opens on April 3rd, 2025. Though Clooney will have an understudy, he’ll be on call for roughly eight live performances a week, with some days featuring both a matinee and an evening show. Running a relatively brisk hour and forty minutes,Good Night, and Good Luck.on Broadway doesn’t have an intermission. While it has a limited-engagement run of 99 performances, with the final show slated for June 8th, 2025, that’s still more than 150 hours that Clooney could spend in the spotlight.
Paul Gross
William Paley
Screen actors are used to grueling days and nights on set, but it’s another thing entirely to perform without takes for an audience. Not only are the performers constantly on the spot, but they have to roll with all the punches that New York City stages can deliver - in my time I’ve witnessed fights break out over seating, fire alarms blaring from nearby buildings, and wailing babies at productions most decidedly not aimed at babies.
This element of unpredictability seemed on Clooney’s mind as he drafted the bio to run inGood Night and Good Luck.’sprogram. “Buckle up,” he warns the audience, because anything can happen in live theater.
