In 2005, Stephen Gaghan’s film Syriana emerged as a gritty and intense espionage thriller, drawing inspiration from the 2003 book See No Evil. This release coincided with a period in cinema history, particularly in the eight years following the 9/11 attacks, where such thrillers delved deeper into the gritty realities of on-the-ground violence and the intricate web of deceit. The film starred George Clooney.
Within the narrative of Syriana, George Clooney assumed the role of Barnes, a CIA field agent initially charged with thwarting arms deals in the Middle East. As his initial mission proves unsuccessful, he finds himself relegated to a desk job. When that too proves fruitless, he is given the daunting assignment of assassinating an Emirates foreign minister portrayed by Alexander Siddig.
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George Clooney Got Scared While Filming
George Clooney‘s preparation for the role was undeniably demanding, but the filming process also posed its own set of formidable challenges. His character demanded a high degree of physicality and endured significant torment on screen. In a particularly memorable incident during filming, Clooney experienced the alarming occurrence of spinal fluid leaking from his nose. This surprising development was attributed to the unexpectedly intense nature of the torture scenes in Syriana.
“It was my own dumb fault. I was taped to a chair and a guy was pretending to hit me. It’s all fake, you’re not really getting punched, and I flipped myself over on the chair, and cracked my head and tore what’s called my dura, which is the wrapping around your spine, and ended up with what they call CSF leak, which is a cranial spinal fluid leak. Good fun. I highly recommend it for everybody out there.” Clooney told The Tech (via Slashfilm)
It’s possible to interpret Clooney’s endorsement with a touch of irony. Clooney went on to emphasize that, naturally, those were the most arduous scenes to shoot.
“[T]he hardest obviously was me getting tortured. The problem was that I got injured along the way. I thought I had an aneurysm. It was a long, drawn out … it was a couple of days of sitting in a room taped to a chair and getting buckets of water, which isn’t in the film anymore. There’s a lot more torture to it that you don’t see … Sort of like what we’re doing in the administration! Just kidding! But anyway, I think that was by far the toughest scene to shoot, but it should have been; it was designed to be that way.”
George Clooney even won an Academy Award for his role in the film.
George Clooney Almost Got Arrested Once
George Clooney, renowned for his portrayal of Danny Ocean in the legendary Ocean’s series, forged a strong connection with the actor from Inglourious Basterds. Their camaraderie gained widespread attention when they engaged in playful pranks against each other. During an interview, George Clooney recounted a memorable prank from their time working on Ocean’s Eleven in 2001, which even led to Brad Pitt getting pulled over!
“We were doing Ocean’s 11. I think it was the first one and one of my favorite things is to get those things that go around your license plate or a bumper sticker. Because you never go to the back of your car and look,” the actor shared to Graham Norton
This wasn’t the end of it, as George Clooney also revealed that he has a dark side with a history of questionable actions over the years. Throughout the interview, Clooney casually mentioned that he was currently embroiled in a mischievous scheme and playfully hinted that he could find himself behind bars one day.
Syriana is available for rent or purchase on Google Play.
Source: Slashfilm
