Clooney on the whether he believes there's a concerted effort of self-responsibility when being the star:

"I think one has to practice being a knuckle-head. You know, I don't know. I think you always have to play by your own rules. I grew up in a family that really believed those were the things that were important in life; the things that you stood for and that you look out for people who can't look out for themselves and that's how - you should be judged on those sorts of things. So I've always felt like - it was nothing new. The Darfur thing or any of these things, [they're] nothing new. I've done those things my whole life, it just happens now you're famous so that they're seen more."

On whether he has to act a certain way because of the self-responsibility to protect his interests, especially since publicly supporting Senator Barack Obama.

"You have to be careful not to do dumb things. It's why I'm a huge fan and supporter and friend and have been, of Barack Obama, for a long period of time. But, I didn't go out on the road and campaign for him for a number of reasons. One, I don't think it particularly helps a candidate. I think, in fact, it can hurt a candidate. But the other thing is, if I do something stupid along the way - and undoubtedly I will with the availability of information now - there are a million cameras everywhere you go, all the time. There's no room for slipping up. And everyone is going to slip up now; there's no way not to. You don't want to have that, in any way, harm the candidate or the issue, so you have to be more careful about what you do. You have to pay attention. You can't come back from Darfur and then go to Crazy Girls the next night, it just doesn't play. You can't completely re-vamp your life; I'm still going to hang out with my friends and be a knuckle-head, you know? I enjoy that, and that's who I am. You have to find a way to balance it and I think the best way to balance it is by talking straight about it. If you don't get on you're high horse, and I think obviously you were talking about [Eliot] Spitzer; the problem with Eliot in many ways was not what he did, but where he looked down on - if I can stand around and say, "Well, I'm gonna screw this up and I'm a knuckle-head." Then when you do, at least you have warned people so that you're able to leave some room for error."

On who he believes taught him to be self-confident:

"I don't know that anyone has ever taught you to believe in yourself, because I think constantly you're questioning yourself. If you're fully believing in yourself then I think you're in a terrible position. You know, my mom and dad are really great role models; my family, all my friends are. They are all really great, smart people. I remember when the L.A. riots hit - and I think I was at my sister's at the time - it was a big deal. I talked to my dad about it and he said, 'What are you going to do about that?' And I hadn't thought about it. I was sitting with Richard Kind and Richard goes, 'Let's get out of town. Let's go to Palm Springs or something.' And I said, 'You know what, Rich? We gotta do something.' And so we went down the first day of the curfew when it was really bad, and we went down to Crenshaw and Vernon and we were handing out buckets and getting food and sweeping up. And I remember looking at my friends thinking all of these guys - it was dangerous down there then. We were the few white people down there at the time and I was so proud of my friends, because I thought, 'God, what a great group of people who actually really cared about their community and were always involved and they weren't famous. They just did it.' So I think it's not about me as much as the people I happen to be lucky enough to be family or friend of."

George Clooney and his thoughts on China, the upcoming Olympics, and the riots in Tibet:

"China has been very frustrating because, it's not as if you can tell a superpower what they can do, you know? They did build a wall. They're not really apt to listen to advocates or diplomats about those sorts of issues and they are getting cheaper oil than they would and they need it. I understand all of their issues, it's just... those are things you constantly have to keep pounding on. But I've also met with warlords in Chad and Darfur and had long conversations where they tell you what they are doing is the right thing. Everybody believes they are right. The problem is, of course, that, these things happened - you know, there were the Crusades - these things happened for one hundred or two hundred years and hundreds of thousands of people, millions of people were killed unjustly. But nobody really knew about it until later and talked about it. Now we know about it. We're sitting in the middle of this thing where we can get a camera or have Google Earth go in and see a village burned down and we know it. And we know those people were raped and killed. And so it's really frustrating that in real-time we can sit and watch something as tragic as this go on and that truly there is this overwhelming sense that there is nothing you can do. And I keep thinking, 'How is that possible?' So, for me - I don't make policy - and I certainly don't advocate us going in and invading another Muslim nation; probably not our best move. So the questions are then, 'How do you then get in?' And it's much more complicated than I thought or would have thought."

Clooney on whether the scene in Leatherheads when they're playing in the mud was a practical joke on the cast and crew:

"Oh yeah, that was. You know I did get the guys, which was pretty funny. The last day of shooting I started telling all the boys - because they were like a fraternity, the football players - and Keith Loneker who's the really funny one, he play's Big Gus, four hundred pounds of fun, and he was sort of the leader of the group. And I had gone to them early on and convince them that we had to do re-shoots from the mud scene. So the last day of shooting I brought them out to the set, which was about an hour drive away. I brought them out a day before and sent them home because there wasn't enough light. And then the last day I bring them out again, put them all in their uniforms and put this big baby tub full of mud, set up a giant green screen and have them all roll around in the mud. The crew is out there and everyone is in on it except these guys. At the end of it all, I just yelled, "That's a wrap," and sent them all home [laughs]."

On whether it's an honor or burden to be compared to actors like Cary Grant:

"You know, because as you well know, all this stuff is cyclical. When people are nice to you, it's cyclical. There'll be that period of time where you'll do a couple of films that they don't like and you'll be the last-of-the-last movie stars, you know what I mean? [laughs]. They are all very complimentary and they've been very nice, so take it with a grain of salt, for what it's worth, and try to do the best you can. There are big differences, you know - Cary Grant was infinitely better at what he did than I've ever been. Cary didn't direct, or write, so we’re sort of actually very different characters in that way. I think it probably comes around because there aren't that many forty-five-year-old leading men in film right now. There are a few, but there aren't as many as there used to be. I think they are looking around to try to find those. There is an awful lot of them in television, actually. There is a lot of good thirty-five-year-old leading men where I think, 'They'll be able to carry movies soon.'"

George Clooney on whether he knows what he'll be directing next:

"I think I do, actually. I'm working on a play called Farragut North that hasn't come out yet, but it's a really interesting play. So, I'm hoping if I can get the screenplay in good shape..."