George Clooney Reaches Iconic Status: A Look at this Actor's Choices

It has been said that a performer is truly accepted in contemporary film culture once he or she, after achieving box-office and critical success, is comfortable generating light and airy pictures without regard for potential negative review . Clearly, in George Clooney's case, he has transcended that acceptance and leaped into another level of stardom.

Clooney's "Leatherheads" only generated $12.6 million on opening weekend, which stands as a fairly accurate barometer of a film's potential. Unless it bucks a trend and inspires audiences to rush to the multiplex over the next month, it promises to languish as a moribund release by Clooney. But the fomer ER star has done a magnificent job managing his career.

"If you examine his choices carefully, he moves back and forth among meaningful pictures such as Syriana, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night Good Luck, and Michael Clayton...big-name, box-office blasts such as The Perfect Storm and the Ocean 11, 12, and 13 films...and light-hearted, whimsical Cary Grant type films such as Intolerable Cruelty, Leatherheads, and Brother, Where Art Thou?," stated Dennis Vellucci, Film Professor at a New York City high school and film historian. "He has categorically refused to be slotted in any one particular genre, and so he is able to stay fresh, bounce back from less than successful box office results, and produce very sophisticated, yet accessible movies."

Many snickered when Clooney decided to leave ER after six years in 2000 to pursue a broader film career. After all, his feature film work prior to 2000 consisted of mostly spotty efforts critically, including Batman and Robin, The Peacemaker, and One Fine Day among others.

"The potential was clearly there," says Vellucci, "but how many times have we heard about potential as TV stars seek the ultimate glory on the big screen...all you have to do is look at some of the other ER popular veterans, Noah Wyle and Anthony Edwards come to mind, to understand it's less than a guarantee."

Recently, ER producers scoffed at the idea of welcoming Clooney back in some capacity as the 15-year drama closes out its remarkable tenure as a Thursday night NBC fixture. The prevailing notion is that George Clooney is such a huge film celebrity and contemporary cultural icon, that it is laughable to think he'd consider dropping in to reprise a TV role...even a role on one of the most successful programs in television history.

"You cannot come any farther than he has as a film star," concluded Vellucci.