George Clooney Reveals Why Failure—Not Success—Makes Better Teachers

George Clooney believes failure teaches more valuable lessons than success ever could. He specifically points to his experience with Batman and Robin as a turning point in his career. The actor explains how that failure forced him to rethink his approach to choosing projects. Now at 64, Clooney prioritizes family time with his wife and twins over chasing career success.

Key Points: George Clooney Says Failure Better Teacher Than Success

  • Clooney credits 1997's Batman and Robin as his biggest learning experience
  • He specifically chose better projects like Three Kings after the failure
  • The actor now prioritizes family time over career ambitions
  • Clooney admits he wasn't good in the much-criticized Batman film
  • He feels successful enough to focus on raising his eight-year-old twins
3 min read

George Clooney calls failure a better teacher than success

Hollywood star George Clooney explains how Batman and Robin failure taught him more than success, revealing career lessons and current family priorities.

"You don't learn from succeeding, you learn from failing, and then you have to figure it out along the way - George Clooney"

Los Angeles, Nov 18

Hollywood star George Clooney credits "failing" for major life learnings, and feels that success isn’t that good a teacher.

The 64-year-old actor has enjoyed huge success in Hollywood, becoming one of the best-known and best-paid movie stars in the world, but George thinks he actually benefited from some of his notable flops, including 1997's ‘Batman and Robin’, reports ‘Female First UK’.

Asked which film he learned the most from, George, who starred alongside the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, and Alicia Silverstone in the much-maligned movie, told ‘People’ magazine, "Batman and Robin! I learned a lot (from) that one. You don't learn from succeeding, you learn from failing, and then you have to figure it out along the way, so it’s helpful”.

As per ‘Female First UK’, George played Batman in the Joel Schumacher-directed movie, which received generally negative reviews from critics. And the movie star has previously criticised his own performance in Batman and Robin.

Speaking to ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ in 2019, George explained, "I wasn’t good in it, it wasn’t a good film. What I learned from that failure was that I had to relearn how I was working. Now, I wasn’t just an actor getting a role, I was being held responsible for the film itself. So the next three films I did were Three Kings, Out of Sight and O Brother, Where Art Thou? That was a very specific choice for me to find better projects”.

Earlier this year, George revealed that he's no longer in a "rush to succeed". The actor feels he's already "had (his) career in many ways" and he's now happy to put his family before his own interests and ambitions in the movie business.

The Hollywood star, who has eight-year-old twins Ella and Alexander with his wife Amal, told Extra, "I’m not in that mass rush to succeed anymore. I’ve had my career in many ways and you know things were winding down in a way, so I get to be home with my kids a lot and it’s fun. I’m still young enough that I can run around with them. That’s going away quickly, but I can still do it right now”.

George and Amal recently celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary, and the actor revealed how they marked the occasion. He shared, "We had a nice dinner night before last (sic)”. Asked what the next 11 years will look like for the couple, George replied, "Mostly be me gumming bread because I’m 64, so I’ll be 75”.

Prior to that, George claimed that he's been the "recipient of a lot of luck" in his life.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
As someone who failed my first startup attempt, I completely relate. The lessons from that failure helped me build my current successful business. Failure isn't the opposite of success, it's part of success.
A
Ananya R
Love how he prioritizes family now! In Indian culture, we always say "sab kuch time par hota hai" - everything happens at the right time. At 64, he understands what truly matters. Family first always! ❤️
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David E
While I appreciate his perspective, I think we should be careful not to romanticize failure. For many people in developing countries like India, failure can have devastating consequences that they can't easily recover from.
V
Vikram M
His honesty about Batman & Robin is refreshing! In Bollywood, stars rarely admit their failures so openly. We need more celebrities who can be this transparent about their journey.
S
Sarah B
The part about "not being in a rush to succeed anymore" really resonates. In our competitive Indian education system, we're always rushing. Sometimes we forget to enjoy the journey and learn from our mistakes along the way.

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