George Clooney

George Clooney

Author: BBC Radio 4 February 23, 2003 Duration: 34:25

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actor, George Clooney. George was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1961, the son of Nick Clooney, a TV newscaster. From the age of five, George spent time pottering round his father's sets, joining in where possible, shouting out the temperature during the weather report. After an initial plan to follow his father into broadcasting, then studying for a short while at Northern Kentucky University, George failed to join the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. But then he got a part in a small film through his uncle, the actor Jose Ferrer. The film was never released, but it had persuaded George of his vocation.

Now decided on a career in acting, George moved to L.A. in 1982 and for a year tried to get a role while he slept in a friend's closet. His first film, in which he starred with Charlie Sheen, stayed unreleased, but got him the producers' attention for later contracts. He got parts in sit-coms such as The Facts Of Life, and Roseanne, and earned decent money, although fame eluded him. Then came a part as Doug Ross in the US TV drama ER. It was to be a huge success and made George's name around the world. Film parts soon flooded in and today he is one of Hollywood's biggest stars, featuring in many Hollywood blockbusters such as From Dusk Til Dawn, One Fine Day, The Peacemaker, Out of Sight, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Ocean's Eleven. After numerous Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, in 2001 George was awarded a Golden Globe for best leading actor in a comedy for O Brother, Where Art Thou?

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Destination Moon by Dinah Washington Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Luxury: An anchored yacht


The Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005 podcast opens a unique window into a pivotal era, drawing from the BBC Radio 4 archives. This isn't just a collection of interviews about music; it's a deeply personal exploration of life, ambition, and memory through the voices of the early 21st century. Each episode presents a guest from this period-be they an artist, a politician, a scientist, or an activist-facing the program's enduring and revealing premise: selecting the eight pieces of music they would take if stranded alone. The conversation that unfolds around these choices is where the magic happens. The host gently guides them from their selections into stories of childhood influences, career-defining moments, personal triumphs, and profound losses. You'll hear the crackle of a vinyl record lead into a confession, or a symphony cue a tale of resilience. Listening to this podcast feels like uncovering a time capsule of cultural and emotional history, where a pop song can explain a political stance and a classical adagio can frame a love story. It’s an intimate study of character and a testament to how the soundtrack of our lives shapes our identity. These archived conversations, preserved in this podcast, remain compelling because they bypass the superficial, using music as the key to unlock genuine human experience.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005
Podcast Episodes
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Meera Syal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Franco Zeffirelli [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:40
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the director Franco Zeffirelli. He was born the illegitimate son of a philandering businessman and a successful fashion designer, both of whom were married to other people. Unable to gi…
George Fenton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the composer George Fenton, whose work includes music for Groundhog Day, Shadowlands, Cry Freedom, The Company of Wolves and The Fisher King. Born George Howe in South London in 1950, h…
Professor A H Halsey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:12
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the sociologist and Oxford Emeritus Professor A H Halsey. Prof Halsey played a key part in the switch to comprehensives as an adviser to Labour Education Secretary Anthony Crossland in…
Rory Bremner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:59
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the impressionist and satirist Rory Bremner. He was born in Edinburgh in 1961. A self-confessed show-off, he started doing impersonations at primary school, sending up teachers, sports…
Margaret Atwood [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:05
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the writer Margaret Atwood. Born just after the outbreak of the Second World War, Margaret Atwood spent much of her childhood in the Canadian outback where her father's work involved st…
David Gilmour [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:38
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. Gilmour grew up in Cambridge, where his father was a senior lecturer in zoology and his mother was also a lecturer and film editor. He was educated at a pri…
Kristin Scott Thomas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:05
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actress Kristin Scott Thomas. She was born in Redruth, Cornwall in 1960. Her father, a Naval pilot, was killed in a crash when she was five. Her mother married another pilot six yea…