George Clooney has opened up about a terrifying 2018 motorbike crash he survived in Sardinia.
The actor - who turned 60 this summer - spoke about the experience in an interview with The Sunday Times. He described how he was en route to the set of Huli series Catch-22 when a car suddenly pulled out in front of him.
Clooney was driving at 75mph, and the sudden swerve sent him flying over his handlebars. As he lay on the ground he thought he was going to die, saying: "I was waiting for my switch to turn off."
To his shock, he realized that a crowd had gathered - but that rather than trying to help him, they were videoing and taking photos.
"If you're in the public eye," he said, "what you realize when you're on the ground thinking it's the last minute of your life is that, for some people, it's just going to be entertainment for their Facebook page."
"I'm a pretty positive guy, but that told me - clearly - that you really are here just for their entertainment," he said, before adding: "You want to take everyone and shake them."
The Oceans Eleven actor went on to talk about how the experience made him think of his children - twins Alex and Ella - who he and wife Amal Clooney welcomed in 2017. At the time of the crash in 2018, they were just a year old, and Clooney feared he would not be there to bring them up.
Thankfully, after being hospitalized with minor injuries Clooney was discharged the same day. Even though he didn't suffer long-term from the crash, it did make him reflect on his own mortality.
"I still play basketball with the younger gang. I feel good. But in 20 years I'm 80—and 80 is a real number. I said the next 20 years are halcyon and we need to celebrate that," said the actor.
"We should focus on the work we do being just the stuff we have to, that we feel in our chest."
Clooney's latest film, The Tender Bar, is in cinemas from December 17 and available to watch on Amazon from January 7, 2022.