George Clooney to receive Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at Venice Film Festival
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will honor George Clooney with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in September 2026, recognizing his career as actor, director, and producer.
The award
The board of the Venice Biennale, acting on a proposal from artistic director Alberto Barbera, has decided to award the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to George Clooney. The prize will be presented during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, which runs from 2 to 12 September 2026 at the Lido.
Clooney's reaction
Clooney, 65, accepted the honor with characteristic self-deprecation.
I have lived so many extraordinary moments in Venice. The festival is without a doubt my favorite festival, and receiving the Golden Lion is an immense honor. Probably it also means I'm getting old, but that's okay.
Barbera's tribute
Alberto Barbera described Clooney as a complete artist whose career moved from small TV roles and B-movies to the lead in ER, then to a filmography spanning war films, thrillers, sophisticated comedies, science fiction, and bittersweet drama.
In his triple role as actor, director and producer, George Clooney is a complete and charismatic artist, passionate and original. His charisma is built on credibility, not image, because his seductive side has never been merely aesthetic.
A Venice regular
Clooney has a long history with the Lido. He brought his most acclaimed directorial work, Good Night, and Good Luck, to Venice in 2005, followed by The Ides of March in 2011 and Suburbicon in 2017. As an actor, he walked the red carpet for films including Gravity, Michael Clayton, and most recently Wolfs (2024) alongside Brad Pitt, and Jay Kelly (2026).
- Good Night, and Good Luck (director)
- The Ides of March (director)
- Suburbicon (director)
- Wolfs (actor, with Brad Pitt)
- Jay Kelly (actor) and Golden Lion ceremony
Career highlights
Barbera noted that Clooney's nine films as director reveal a demanding and generous idea of cinema. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night, and Good Luck, The Ides of March, and Suburbicon are examples of ambitious, unconventional works that also reflect his commitment to social and humanitarian causes. His acting versatility has been praised across genres, from war films like Three Kings and Syriana to the thriller Michael Clayton, the sophisticated comedy of Ocean's Eleven, and science fiction in Gravity and Solaris.
