The Best George Clooney Movies, Ranked (And Where to Watch Them)

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Rachel Ulatowski

Rachel Ulatowski

JustWatch Editor

George Clooney is one of the most decorated actors in Hollywood. Though he took a four-year hiatus from acting from 2016 - 2020, he returned to the film industry with a splash, dropping his biopic Wolfs. It will be exciting to see Pitt and Clooney back together after they previously starred in the Ocean’s film series. For viewers looking to familiarize themselves with Clooney’s work before seeing Wolfs, this guide will help you find his best works and where to watch them.

Clooney’s career began in the early 1980s after his cousin, actor Miguel Ferrer, got him a small role in a feature film and encouraged him to pursue a Hollywood career. By 1984, he landed his first starring role in the sitcom ER series, for which he received an Emmy nomination.

He further gained traction with his role in Good Night, and Good Luck in 2005.

Today, Clooney is among only four celebrities to receive at least one nomination in six different Oscar categories. The only others who have pulled off this feat are Walt Disney, Alfonso Cuarón, and Kenneth Branagh. Though his roles have grown a bit sparser in recent years due to his focus on filmmaking, he continues to star mostly in action thrillers, sci-fi films, and comedies.

With his latest films, including The Flash and Boys in the Boat, becoming available to stream and viewers preparing to watch Wolfs, it’s an excellent time to get into more of his movies. Hence, we have compiled a list of his ten best films ranked by how iconic and well-known his performance was and the films’ critical acclaim.

  1. Michael Clayton

    Michael Clayton

    2007

    # 1

    A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.

  2. Gravity

    Gravity

    2013

    # 2

    Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

  3. Ocean's Eleven

    Ocean's Eleven

    2001

    # 3

    Less than 24 hours into his parole, charismatic thief Danny Ocean is already rolling out his next plan: In one night, Danny's hand-picked crew of specialists will attempt to steal more than $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos. But to score the cash, Danny risks his chances of reconciling with ex-wife, Tess.

  4. Good Night, and Good Luck.

    # 4

    The story of journalist Edward R. Murrow's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts in the early 1950s.

  5. Syriana

    Syriana

    2005

    # 5

    The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman, a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins.

  6. Fantastic Mr. Fox

    Fantastic Mr. Fox

    2009

    # 6

    The Fantastic Mr. Fox, bored with his current life, plans a heist against the three local farmers. The farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with the sly fox, seek revenge against him and his family.

  7. Up in the Air

    Up in the Air

    2009

    # 7

    Corporate downsizing expert Ryan Bingham spends his life in planes, airports, and hotels, but just as he’s about to reach a milestone of ten million frequent flyer miles, he meets a woman who causes him to rethink his transient life.

  8. The Descendants

    The Descendants

    2011

    # 8

    With his wife Elizabeth on life after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront a young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.

  9. The Ides of March

    The Ides of March

    2011

    # 9

    Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.

  10. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

    # 10

    In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.