George Clooney Was a 'Typical' Teenager, Family Friend Says

by Nicky80 Wed 25 Jun 2014, 20:44

George Clooney Was a 'Typical' Teenager, Family Friend Says

He's Hollywood royalty now, but what wasGeorge Clooney like as a teen?

"He was just an average, teenage kid when I first met him," Ronnie French, a family friend from Augusta, Kentucky, tells PEOPLE about the former Sexiest Man Alive. "He played basketball and baseball and tennis … Even though he was younger, he wanted to hang around with us older guys."

And turns out, the actor – who's engaged to British attorney Amal Alamuddin – has always been a prankster. "He joked around all the time, and he still does," says French, 67. "He's been like that all his life."

French and Clooney, 53, were both extras on the set of the miniseries Centennial, where the pals were "just thrilled we would get a role to play on TV."

And though the two are no longer in close contact, when Clooney makes it back home, it's as if no time has passed.

"He's still fun today," says French. "A couple years ago, he came back and I didn't know. He came up and whacked me on the back of the head and said, 'I still think I could take you in tennis!' George is George. We love him – always have."

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