George Clooney says he and Amal did not want their children to have ‘strange’ Hollywood names

George Clooney, pictured with his wife Amal Clooney, says he chased away the Hollywood-sounding names for their children.  (Photo: Mondadori via Getty Images / Archive Mondadori via Getty Images / Mondadori via Getty Images)
George Clooney, pictured with his wife Amal Clooney, says he chased away the Hollywood-sounding names for their children. (Photo: Mondadori via Getty Images / Archive Mondadori via Getty Images / Mondadori via Getty Images)

George Clooney and his wife Amal gave their children traditional names to save them more attention than well-known offspring, he said in a new interview with AARP.

In the virtual conversation, George (59), who played the director and starring role in the Netflix sci-fi movie The Midnight Sky, talked heartily about family life, including his habit of writing letters to Amal, 42, and why they call their three-year-old twins Alexander and Ella.

“I did not want strange names for our children,” he said. “They’re going to have enough problems. It’s hard to be the son of someone who is famous and successful. He explained, “Paul Newman’s son killed himself. Gregory Peck’s son killed himself. Bing Crosby had two boys killed. I have an advantage because I am so older that by the time my son will feel competitive, I will literally be eating bread. ‘

George will become a father in 2017, the couple humorously announced. “… Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and they are doing well. George is anesthetized and should recover within a few days. ‘It seemed like a nod to the age of the actor and his bachelor representative – although he was once married to actress Talia Balsam (from 1989 to 1993) and dated women, including Renée Zellweger and Elisabetta Canalis. George avoided long-term commitment. Well, until Amal came in 2013.

“I was like, ‘I’m never going to get married. “I’m not going to have children,” George said. GQ in November. ‘I’m going to work, I have good friends, my life is full, I’m doing well. And I did not know how incomplete it was until I met Amal. And then everything changed. And I was like, ‘Oh, that was actually a big empty space.’ ‘

The actor raised the question in April 2014, less than a year after meeting the human rights lawyer through a mutual friend. And he adapted with similar ease to fatherhood and called it ‘fulfilling’.

George makes family memories so important, George said that during their weekend getaways with Amal (presumably taken before the coronavirus pandemic) they wrote their children detailed letters about their journey.

The couple also exchanges letters every few months. “Even during the lock-up, I will write a letter and put it down on her desk, otherwise she will write a letter and leave it under the pillow,” George said. AARP. “I believe a lot in letters. I have letters from Paul Newman, Walter Cronkite, Gregory Peck. I let them frame. I put them in the house. If it was a text, it would feel different. Maybe it’s a generation thing, and maybe it will not be 20 years from now, but for me, someone sat down and wrote it. ‘

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or send an SMS to the crisis text line at 741741.

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