George Clooney in The Ides of March
The last decade of George Clooney's career has been his best - getting better with age - and also tackling directing as well as acting.
He is back in the director's chair this week with new movie The Ides of March, a movie he also stars in, wrote and produced.
So to celebrate the release of this excellent political thriller we take a look at some of the best performances from Clooney for the last ten years.
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Ocean's Eleven saw Clooney team up with director Steven Soderbergh as well as Brad Pitt and Matt Damon for this super slick remake.
Now they always say that the remake is never as good as the original but this film bucks that trend as it is a super action packed ride - with a great cast.
Soderbergh mixes action with comedy as well as having a pair of suave and sophisticated leads that really carry the movie.
Good Night and Good Luck (2005)
Good Night and Good Luck marked Clooney's second outing as a feature film director - but it was to be the movie that announced him as a very serious and extremely talented filmmaker.
The film tells the true story of the legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn; L.A. Confidential) who in the late 1950s boldly took on the malevolent power of US Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Shot in black and white this is filmmaking of the highest quality it was bold, beautiful as well as intelligent.
The film looked great, the performances were outstanding and the script was brilliant - hard to believe that a movie shot, for the majority, in one room, could be so dramatic and filled with tension.
Syriana (2005)
A Best Supporting Actor came Clooney's way for his superb performance in Syriana as he teamed up with filmmaker Stephen Gaghan.
With this movie is became clear that Clooney was now more interested in intelligent and meaty roles in a movie that is a very interesting look at the oil industry - and the power that it brings.
It's a powerful performance from Clooney as a disillusioned CIA agent who is stationed in the Middle East.
Michael Clayton (2007)
In 2007 the actor was in the running for Best Actor for s superb turn in Michael Clayton, which was directed by Tony Gilroy.
A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.
It was the best performance of Clooney's career, which is saying a lot seeing as he already had an Oscar at this point, in this smart legal thriller.
It was a movie that was driven by characters - those being brought alive by a sting of very talented actors.
Up In The Air (2009)
Up In The Air was one of the mist celebrated movies of 2009/10 as Clooney teamed up with Jason Reitman, the director behind Juno.
Up In The Air was just a witty adult comedy and love story - that really was a delight to watch.
Clooney has superb chemistry with Vera Farmiga and it's that central relationship that really pushed the film forward.
He was once again nominated for a Best Actor Oscar.
The Ides of March (2011)
And he returns this week with The Ides of March - a movie that is already surrounded in Oscar whispers.
Having seen the movie already I can tell you this is a whip smart political thriller with plenty of twists and turns.
Clooney is great as politician Mike Morris - on the outside he looks like a man ready to lead America forward; underneath he has a little secret.
His directing is also something to marvel at as some of the imagery and silent scenes that he captures are some of the most powerful in the movie.
The Ides of March is released 28th October
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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