[3][4] Clooney started acting in television in the late 1970s, and later gained wide recognition in his role as Dr. Doug Ross on the NBC medical drama ER (1994–1999), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

[36] Clooney rose to fame when he played Dr. Doug Ross, alongside Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, and Noah Wyle, on the hit NBC medical drama ER from 1994 to 1999.

His first major Hollywood role was in the horror comedy-crime thriller From Dusk till Dawn, directed by Robert Rodriguez and co-starring Harvey Keitel.

"[50] That same year Clooney made his directorial debut in the 2002 film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, based on the autobiography of TV producer Chuck Barris.

[52] In 2005, Clooney starred in Syriana, which was based loosely on former Central Intelligence Agency agent Robert Baer's memoirs of his service in the Middle East.

[54] Clooney next appeared in The Good German (2006), a film noir directed by Soderbergh that is set in post-World War II Germany.

In October 2006, Clooney received the American Cinematheque Award, which honors someone in the entertainment industry who has made "a significant contribution to the art of motion pictures".

[55] On January 22, 2008, Clooney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Michael Clayton (2007) losing to Daniel Day-Lewis who won for Paul Thomas Anderson's drama There Will Be Blood (2007).

He became a "financial core status" non-member, meaning he no longer has voting rights, and cannot run for office or attend membership meetings, according to the Writers Guild of America's constitution.

[58] The following year, Clooney produced and starred in the dark crime drama The American (2010), based on the novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth and directed by Anton Corbijn.

[71] Clooney reunited with Julia Roberts for the Jodie Foster-directed thriller Money Monster (2016), playing the host of a television show that investigates conspiracies on commerce and Wall Street, who is taken hostage by a bankrupt viewer given a bad tip.

It stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac, from a script written by the Coen brothers in the 1980s, that they had originally intended to direct themselves.

[74] The award was presented to him by Shirley MacLaine, and was honored by Julianna Margulies, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Anna Kendrick, Jimmy Kimmel, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and his wife Amal Clooney.

[75] In 2019, Clooney returned to television, starring, directing and producing the Hulu historical miniseries Catch-22, based upon the novel of the same name by Joseph Heller.

[99] Clooney is involved with Not On Our Watch Project, an organization that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities, along with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, David Pressman and Jerry Weintraub.

[103] In March 2012, Clooney starred with Martin Sheen and Brad Pitt in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play 8—a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage—as attorney David Boies.

[104] The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

[105][106] In September 2012, Clooney offered to take an auction winner out to lunch to benefit the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

[110][111][112][113] In September of the same year, he spoke to the UN Security Council with Nobel Prize-winner Elie Wiesel to ask the UN to find a solution to the conflict and to help the people of Darfur.

[115] On March 25, 2007, he sent an open letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, calling on the European Union to take "decisive action" in the region given the failure of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to respond to UN resolutions.

[120] Clooney and Prendergast co-wrote a Washington Post op-ed piece in May 2011, titled "Dancing with a dictator in Sudan", arguing that: President Omar al-Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, is escalating bombing and food aid obstruction in Darfur, and he now threatens the entire north-south peace process ... the evidence shows that incentives alone are insufficient to change Khartoum's calculations.

[128] In March 2016, he and his wife Amal met with Syrian refugees living in Berlin to mark the fifth anniversary of the conflict, before meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel to thank her for Germany's open-door policy.

[131] On March 28, 2019, Clooney wrote an open letter calling for the boycott of the Sultan of Brunei's hotels over a new law that came into force on April 3, 2019, that punishes homosexual sex and adultery with death by stoning.

[151][152] He subsequently said they forged a strong bond because of their interest in campaigning work, and particularly over the issue of the Elgin Marbles, when she was acting for the government of Greece in support of their return from the British Museum and he, while promoting his film The Monuments Men, had argued for this and been criticised by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

[153] In July 2014, Clooney publicly mocked the British tabloid newspaper Daily Mail after it claimed his fiancée's mother opposes their marriage on religious grounds.

[158] In 2015, Clooney and Alamuddin adopted a rescue dog, a Basset Hound named Millie, from the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society.

[165] In 2014, Clooney and his wife Amal Alamuddin bought the Grade II listed[166] Mill House on an island in the River Thames at Sonning Eye in Oxfordshire, England[167] at a cost of around £10 million.

[168] In May 2021, The Economic Times reported Clooney plans to buy a vineyard near the village of Brignoles, in France, which includes an 18th-century manor with its own swimming pool and a tennis court.

"[178] Clooney has appeared in commercials outside the U.S. for Fiat, Nespresso, Martini vermouth, Omega, Warburtons and DNB ASA Eiendom (a Norwegian bank and real estate agency).

[193] During his career, Clooney has won two Academy Awards, one for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Syriana[194] and one for Best Picture as one of the producers for Argo, as well as a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.