There was a commotion on the red carpet outside Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan on Monday night: George Clooney had just arrived.
“I’m going to be 65 next week,” he said, wearing a bow tie and flashing a boyish grin as he posed for the cameras. “It’s astonishing.”
Clooney was there to receive the 51st Chaplin Award, the lifetime achievement award that Film at Lincoln Center presents to an actor or filmmaker each year.
But the actor, who has become known in recent years for his political views, as well as his acting and directing career, took a moment in his acceptance speech to weigh in on current events.
“I can’t be here on a night like tonight and just ignore everything that’s going on in the world,” Clooney said at the end of his remarks, after he’d been honored by former colleagues, including Stephen Colbert, Julianna Margulies, Sam Rockwell and John Turturro.
“I disagree with everything that this administration stands for,” Clooney continued. “But there’s no place for this kind of violence we saw two nights ago in Washington. Nor is there room for this kind of violence in Minnesota with Alex Pretti or Renee Nicole Good.”
Clooney, who has been an outspoken critic of President Trump, did not explicitly name the president, who survived an assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday. But he spoke out against the extremism that many argue has contributed to Trump’s rise.
“It seems to me there’s a struggle that has to be won against hatred and corruption and cruelty and violence,” he said. “It’s a struggle for the very soul of this republic, because to foment hate and violence is to inherit the wind.”
Clooney concluded with a call for unity.
“The question is simply, as citizens of this great country, what are we to do?” he asked. “And it is in that answer that all of us, left, right and center, can build a more perfect union, heal our wounds and begin to truly make America great again.”
An actor, writer, director and producer who has won two Academy Awards, in 2006 for his role in the film “Syriana” and in 2013 for co-producing “Argo,” Clooney was being honored for his contributions to film and television, as well as for his humanitarian work. Past recipients of the Chaplin Award include Pedro Almodóvar, Tom Hanks, Spike Lee, Sidney Poitier, Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford and Elizabeth Taylor.
Earlier in the ceremony, a smattering of Clooney’s famous friends celebrated his longevity, levity and philanthropy.
Turturro, who starred alongside Clooney in Ethan and Joel Coen’s 2000 crime comedy “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” recalled his humor on set. Turturro, who played a member of the chain gang, had his head shaved each day before shooting and used false rotten teeth.
“George would just bounce in with the energy of a lovable little 5-year-old, throw some dirt all over his face, put some pomade in his hair and comb it, and break into this big, beautiful smile,” Turturro said of Clooney, who played Ulysses Everett McGill, a fellow convict.
“He said, ‘You see, I don’t need makeup like you guys,’ ” he said. “It was kind of impossible not to love the guy.”
But it wasn’t only toasts: Colbert, whose debut on “The Late Show” in 2015 featured Clooney as his first guest, came armed with some roasts as well.
Clooney was being honored, Colbert said, not just for his “talent” and “extraordinary philanthropy,” but because “all of us in this room want to be invited to Lake Como,” referring to the home in Italy that Clooney shares with his wife, the human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
“Nothing’s free, George,” Colbert quipped.
Around 8:30 p.m., Clooney himself took the stage.
“It’s funny. I did this scene in a movie last year,” he joked, referring to his role as an emotionally stunted famous actor in Noah Baumbach’s 2025 showbiz comedy “Jay Kelly.” “It’s way more touching the way it happens in real life.”
The tribute was followed by a dinner of arctic char and English pea risotto at candlelit tables in the promenade of the David H. Koch Theater. The 350-some guests took turns approaching Clooney to congratulate him.
“He is going to take pictures with everyone in this room,” Colbert, who was seated at a long table in the center of the room alongside Clooney, joked during the tribute. “He is shy, so make sure you approach him.”
Sarah Bahr writes about culture and style for The Times.
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