George Clooney May Be A Hollywood Superstar, But He’s Been Keeping One Strange Secret Under His Hat

If someone asks you to picture a movie star, chances are that you will think of someone like George Clooney. He has been a silver-screen icon for over two decades, with his devastatingly handsome looks and debonair ladies’ man aura winning him legions of fans. Recently, though, those same fans have struggled to get their heads around a startling revelation about the leading man’s appearance.

It’s difficult to imagine now, but there was once a time when it looked like Clooney wasn’t going to be a star. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, he had roles on The Facts of Life and Roseanne, but his big career break seemed elusive. He said to The New Yorker magazine in 2007, “I wished I was doing better projects, and I didn’t think I was going to get that chance.”

In 1994, though, Clooney scored the role of Dr. Doug Ross in ER, the ensemble medical drama that went on to become a TV institution. The character, an empathetic pediatrician who was a hit with the ladies, gave Clooney the chance to display his star quality. He stayed on the show for five years, and at the same time began to forge a career in movies.

The role of handsome thief Jack Foley in Steven Soderbergh’s 1998 crime flick Out Of Sight kicked off a run of defining performances that began to cement Clooney as a movie star. Next came 1999s Gulf War satire Three Kings, the Coen Brothers’ excellent O Brother, Where Art Thou? and seafaring disaster movie The Perfect Storm.

Clooney’s status as a bona fide leading man was confirmed forever with 2001 heist film Ocean’s Eleven. The movie, a remake of a ’60s film starring Frank Sinatra, was a huge hit and led to two sequels. It teamed Clooney with other stars such as Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon and truly crystallized the image the public has of him to this day: suave, wry and very well dressed.