George Clooney plays a presidential candidate in his new film "The Ides of March" but says he has "no interest" in running for office in real life and praised current U.S. leader Barack Obama.
"As for running for president, look, there's a guy in office right now who is smarter than almost anyone you know, who's nicer and who has more compassion than almost anyone you know," the 50-year-old actor told reporters at the Venice Film Festival, according to the Associated Press. "And he's having an almost impossible time governing. Why would anybody volunteer for that job?"
"I have a really good job," Clooney added. "I get to hang out with very seductive people. So I have no interest."
"The Ides of March" premiered on Wednesday, August 31, at the Venice Film Festival and is set to open in the United States on October 7. The film's title comes from the infamous line from the William Shakespeare play "Julius Caesar" and is adapted from the Broadway play "Farragut North."
The actor also directed and co-wrote the movie, which sees him playing Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris, a Democratic presidential candidate. Ryan Gosling portrays Stephen Meyers, his press secretary, who becomes involved in a sex scandal that engulfs Morris' campaign. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as the governor's campaign manager.
The movie also features Evan Rachel Wood as Meyers' intern, Marisa Tomei as a New York Times reporter and Paul Giamatti as a rival campaign manager.
"I don't actually think of this as a political film," Clooney told reporters. "I figure you could literally put this in Wall Street or you could put it pretty much anywhere and it's all the same sort of issues - it's issues of morality, it's issues of whether or not you're willing to trade your soul for an outcome."
"Many of the films I do are very personal," he added.
Clooney has used his celebrity status to promote political causes. Since 2004, he has donated almost $15,000 to Democratic causes, including Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
The actor is also a United Nations "Messenger of Peace." He visited the war-torn African country to Sudan last year to raise awareness of regional violence and an independence referendum. He contracted malaria during his trip.
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