Vulture's Most Valuable Stars List of 2013

He’s Mr. Hollywood, a smooth and sophisticated star and creative talent.

George Clooney is to Hollywood as Uncle Sam is to America. "We want you" is Clooney’s unspoken cry to filmmakers, actors, writers, and backers with deep pockets, a soldier for the artistic possibilities of working inside the studio system. He’s an old-school mind with a contemporary sheen. And he gets away with it because he’s so damn charming. He’s witty and dapper while also seeming like the best friend a middle-aged guy could ever have: He’s the generation X male’s Jennifer Lawrence, except you want to share a beer, not brunch.

That doesn’t make Clooney a tentpole powerhouse at the box office, but that’s also because those aren’t the kinds of movies he usually makes. Outside of the Ocean’s franchise, he hasn’t had a $100 million hit since 2000’s The Perfect Storm. (Though that drought is now finally ending with Gravity.) Clooney is much more interested in modest-budgeted vehicles for grown-ups, a niche today that only he and a few choice others are allowed to play in.
And he can deliver returns: 2008’s Burn After Reading, 2009’s Up in the Air, and 2011’s The Descendants made $60.3, $83.8, and $82.5 million respectively, and they replicated those totals overseas. He has one of the highest studio values for this reason: It’s hard for an exec to rationalize making a mid-range, serious movie in today’s blockbuster-centric mind-set, but Clooney can earn a studio green light without breaking a sweat; basically, he makes them look good. (Even when he’s just behind the scenes as a producer: You’re welcome for Best Picture winner Argo, Warner Bros.!) This winter will see his next directorial and starring effort, The Monuments Men, with fellow lovable activist and good-movie hero Matt Damon; that’ll be followed by Brad Bird’s mysterious Tomorrowland. And then a beer? Please?

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Rank Compared to 2012 -8
Domestic Box Office $41,650,112
Overseas Box Office $43,144,699
Studio Value (1–10) 9
Likeability 64%
Oscars 2 wins, 4 noms
Critics’ Score (1–100) 54
Twitter Mentions 1,160
Tabloid Value (1–10) 7
Domestic Box Office, Overseas Box Office, and Critics’ Score are weighted medians. Likeability data provided by E-Score. All data except Oscars taken from 2008–present. Read about our scientific rankings.