The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia (September 2nd – 12th, 2026) has been awarded to the American actor, director, and producer George Clooney (“Jay Kelly,” “Syriana,” “Good Night and Good Luck“). The decision was made by the Board of Directors of La Biennale, upon recommendation of the Artistic Director of the Festival, Alberto Barbera.
George Clooney, in accepting, said: “I’ve had so many extraordinary moments in Venice. This festival is without question my favorite, and to be given the Golden Lion is a tremendous honor. It also probably means I’m old, but I’ll take it”.
Regarding this award, Director Alberto Barbera declared: “In his triple capacity as actor, director, and producer, George Clooney is a complete and charismatic artist, impassioned and original, who has transformed a deep vocation into one of the most luminous parabolas of contemporary film. An early career launched without shortcuts, with small roles in TV series and B movies, until his major success as the star of the series ER, formed an actor who is able to inhabit the screen with disarming spontaneity. He is endowed with the gift of making his characters seem not only credible but desirable, approachable, and human, thanks to his undeniable charm. But Clooney’s charisma is constructed on his credibility, not on his image, because his seductive side has never been merely aesthetic.
A perfect combination of the star glamour of days gone by, remarkable professionalism, and modern sensitivity, the actor has crossed the genres with rare versatility: war movies with “Three Kings” and “Syriana”; thrillers with “Michael Clayton”; sophisticated comedies with “Ocean’s Eleven” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”; science fiction with “Gravity” and “Solaris”; and bittersweet comedies with “The Descendants,” “Up in the Air,” and “Jay Kelly.” In each one of these movies, he calibrated his register while remaining true to himself: ironic and melancholy, fascinating and reflective, brilliant and capable of unexpected depth. He did the same in the nine films he made when he decided to go behind the movie camera, all of which reveal a demanding and generous concept of cinema. “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” “Good Night and Good Luck,” “The Ides of March,” and “Suburbicon” are examples of films that are refined, ambitious, and outside the rules and conventions of Hollywood cinema. They also reflect his other vocation, a commitment to social and humanitarian causes, making him a figure of absolute prominence in the universe of show business today”.
George Clooney is recognized as much for his global humanitarian efforts as he is for his accomplishments in the entertainment industry.
Clooney’s achievements as a performer and a filmmaker have earned him two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award, four SAG Awards, one BAFTA award, two Critics’ Choice Awards, an Emmy, four National Board of Review Awards, and an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. When Clooney received his eighth Academy Award nomination, he earned a special spot in the Oscar record books, having been nominated in more categories than anyone else in Oscar history.
Most recently, Clooney earned a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway debut in “Good Night and Good Luck,” in which he starred as Edward R. Murrow in the stage adaptation of his 2005 Oscar-nominated film, which he co-wrote with Grant Heslov. Making history as the first live Broadway performance to be simultaneously televised, the show aired on CNN to audiences across the world.
Through Smokehouse Pictures, Clooney’s most recent directorial project was “The Boys in the Boat,” which he both directed and produced for MGM, alongside his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov. The film is based on the bestselling novel by Daniel James Brown.
Other recent Smokehouse projects include “The Tender Bar” (Amazon Prime), which he also directed and produced, based on the J.R. Moehringer memoir of the same name; and “The Midnight Sky,” based on the science fiction novel “Good Morning, Midnight” by Lily Brooks-Dalton, which he directed and starred in for Netflix.
For television, Clooney most recently produced the political thriller series “The Agency” for Showtime, based on the acclaimed French series “Le Bureau des Légendes,” which has been renewed for a second season. Prior to “The Agency,” Clooney’s last television series was “Catch-22” (Hulu), the six-part limited series that he directed, served as executive producer, and acted in. “Catch-22” was based on the Joseph Heller novel of the same name.
On screen, Clooney was last seen opposite Adam Sandler and Billy Crudup in Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly” for Netflix, Jon Watts’ “Wolfs” alongside Brad Pitt, which Clooney also co-produced through Smokehouse Pictures for Apple, and “Ticket to Paradise” (Universal Pictures), in which he co-starred with Julia Roberts in 2022. Furthermore, he produced and directed “Suburbicon” (Paramount Pictures), produced and starred in “Money Monster” (TriStar Pictures), produced and starred in “Our Brand Is Crisis” (Warner Bros.), and produced, directed, and starred in “The Monuments Men” (Sony Pictures). In 2016, he also starred in the Coen Brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!” (Universal Pictures). In 2015, Clooney was seen in director Alfonso Cuarón’s drama “Gravity” (Warner Bros.) and sci-fi film “Tomorrowland” (Disney).
In 2013, Smokehouse, along with Jean Doumanian Productions, produced a film adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play “August: Osage County” (The Weinstein Company).
Other Smokehouse films include the Academy Award-winning drama “Argo” (Warner Bros.) and “The Ides of March” (Columbia Pictures), which Clooney starred in, co-wrote, and directed, and received Golden Globe nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Motion Picture Drama. In addition, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
In 2011, Clooney starred in Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight). Clooney won the Critics’ Choice Award, Golden Globe Award, and National Board of Review Award for Best Actor. In addition, he received a SAG nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
In 2009, Clooney starred in the critically acclaimed film “Up in the Air” (Paramount Pictures). He received an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe nomination, a SAG nomination, and a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor for his performance. He also won the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics’ Circle Awards.
When Clooney received his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “Syriana” (Warner Bros.) in 2006, he also earned Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for “Good Night and Good Luck” (Warner Independent Pictures). This was the first time in Academy history that an individual had received acting and directing nominations for two different films in the same year.
Clooney and Heslov first worked together at Section Eight, a company in which Clooney partnered with Steven Soderbergh. Section Eight productions included “Ocean’s 11,” “Ocean’s 12,” “Ocean’s 13,” “Michael Clayton,” “The Good German,” “Good Night and Good Luck,” “Syriana,” “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” “The Jacket,” “Full Frontal,” and “Welcome to Collinwood.”
Before his film career, Clooney starred in several television series, becoming best known to TV audiences for his five years on the hit NBC drama “ER.” His portrayal of Dr. Douglas Ross earned him Golden Globe, SAG, People’s Choice Award, and Emmy Award nominations.
For Section Eight’s television division, Clooney was an executive producer and directed five episodes of “Unscripted,” a reality-based show that debuted on HBO. He was also executive producer and cameraman on “K Street,” another show featured on HBO.
Clooney was executive producer and co-star of the live television broadcast of “Fail-Safe,” an Emmy-winning telefilm developed through his Maysville Pictures. “Fail-Safe” was nominated for a 2000 Golden Globe Award as Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. The telefilm was based on the early 1960s novel of the same name.
Clooney is a strong First Amendment advocate with a deep commitment to humanitarian causes. In 2006, Clooney and his father, Nick, went to drought-stricken Darfur, Africa, to film the documentary “Journey to Darfur.” Clooney’s work on behalf of Darfur relief led to his addressing the United Nations Security Council. He also narrated the Darfur documentary “Sand and Sorrow.” In 2006, he received the American Cinematheque Award and the Modern Master Award from the Santa Barbara Film Festival.
In 2007, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub founded “Not On Our Watch,” an organization whose mission is to focus global attention and resources on stopping and preventing mass atrocities in Darfur.
Among the many honors received as a result of his humanitarian efforts in Darfur, one of them was the 2007 Peace Summit Award, given at the eighth World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. In 2008, Clooney was designated a U.N. Messenger of Peace, one of eight individuals chosen to advocate on behalf of the U.N. and its peacekeeping efforts.
In January of 2010, Clooney, along with Joel Gallen and Tenth Planet Productions, produced the “Hope for Haiti Now!”telethon, which raised more than $66 million, setting a new record for donations made by the public through a disaster-relief telethon.
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded Clooney with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 2010 Primetime Emmys. Later that year, Clooney received the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award for his dedication to humanitarian efforts in Sudan and Haiti.
In December of 2010, Clooney, along with the United Nations, Harvard University, and Google, launched The Satellite Sentinel Project, an effort to monitor violence and human-rights violations between Southern and Northern Sudan. “Not on Our Watch” funds new monitoring technology, which allows private satellites to take photographs of any potential threats to civilians, detect bombs, observe the movement of troops, and note any other evidence of possible mass violence.
In March of 2012, Clooney was part of the delegation that peacefully demonstrated in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., calling worldwide attention to the human-rights violations being committed in Sudan, which resulted in his arrest.
In October of 2012, Clooney was the honoree at the Carousel of Hope Ball, which benefits the Children’s Diabetes Foundation and the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes (BDC).
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will run from September 2nd-12th with Ema Sasic and Josh Parham attending on behalf of Next Best Picture this year in-person.
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