George Clooney to receive Venice Festival Golden Lion Lifetime award

George Clooney will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival, recognizing a career that has spanned acting, directing and producing across film and television.

“I’ve had so many extraordinary moments in Venice,” Clooney said in a statement. “This festival is without question my favorite and to be given the Golden Lion is a tremendous honor. It also probably means I’m old, but I’ll take it.”

In announcing the honor, Venice Artistic director Alberto Barbera described Clooney as “a complete and charismatic artist” whose career has combined mainstream success with an ongoing commitment to ambitious filmmaking and humanitarian causes.

Clooney is a Venice regular, having premiered such features as Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), Gravity (2013), The Ides of March (2011), and most recently, Jay Kelly (2025) on the Lido.

Barbera said Clooney’s career, in front of and behind the camera, demonstrated “a demanding and generous concept of cinema” while reflecting Clooney’s longstanding engagement with political and social issues.

Clooney’s career has earned him two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, a BAFTA, an Emmy and the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. He also holds the distinction of having received Academy Award nominations in more competitive categories than any other individual.

Earlier this year, Clooney received a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, reprising his role as journalist Edward R. Murrow from the 2005 film he co-wrote with Grant Heslov. The production also became the first live Broadway performance to be simultaneously televised, airing on CNN.

Through his Smokehouse Pictures banner with Heslov, Clooney has continued to produce and direct films including The Boys in the Boat, The Tender Bar and The Midnight Sky, while also expanding into television with projects such as Catch-22 and Showtime’s The Agency.

Outside filmmaking, Clooney has been active in humanitarian work for nearly two decades, including advocacy on Darfur, service as a U.N. Messenger of Peace and the founding of the anti-genocide organization Not On Our Watch. His humanitarian efforts have been recognized with honors including the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award.

The 2026 Venice Film Festival runs Sept. 2-12. The festival will unveil its full lineup on July 23.