NEED TO KNOW
- George Clooney spoke to PEOPLE exclusively on the red carpet for the New York Film Festival premiere of his movie Jay Kelly
- He calls costar Adam Sandler “the sweetest man in the world” and “a dear friend”
- Of Sandler’s recent switch from casual wear to suits, Clooney quips that he’s responsible
George Clooney counts Adam Sandler among his closest friends and collaborators.
“I love him,” Clooney, 64, tells PEOPLE at the Monday, Sept. 29 premiere of Jay Kelly, in which he and Sandler, 59, star respectively as a movie star and his manager. The new film marks the first time the two actors have worked together onscreen.
“He’s the sweetest man in the world. He’s a dear friend and the fact that I got to work with him —” says the Oscar winner, adding an appreciative shrug.
“I’ve actually been making Adam wear suits,” Clooney jokes, referencing his costar’s signature casual style. “Don’t you think he looks nicer? Instead of those big baggy shorts?”
Jay Kelly (in theaters on Nov. 14 and streaming on Netflix Dec. 5) hails from director and co-writer Noah Baumbach and writer-star Emily Mortimer, costarring Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and more. It follows the titular movie actor on a soul-searching journey throughout Europe, with Sandler as one of the many members of his team providing support.
“The cast,” Clooney raves, is “unbelievable. Billy Crudup steals the whole show and he’s in one scene.”
With a wry smile, he quips, “I want to kill him.”
Clooney previously praised Sandler’s dramatic skills, saying in an August Vanity Fair interview that Jay Kelly “shows what a beautiful, heartfelt, soulful actor he is… I kept telling the cast, ‘Don’t call him Sand Man. Don’t talk to him like he’s just some goofy comedian. He’s actually a really beautiful, wonderful actor.'”
The Happy Gilmore writer-star had equally good things to say about Clooney. “He did make me some of the best cups of coffee I ever had,” Sandler tells PEOPLE at the movie’s premiere. “Once or twice a week, I got a good George coffee.”
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Jay Kelly also costars Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Riley Keough, Isla Fisher and Patrick Wilson. Following its starry premieres at the film festivals in Venice and New York, the movie will be in theaters on Nov. 14 and streaming on Netflix Dec. 5.
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