Why George Clooney was best man to play Paul Newman?

Ethan Hawke believed George Clooney was the right actor to play Paul Newman in HBO’s docu-series titled The Last Movie Stars because his trajectory in the career matched with the late star.

“George was the first person I thought of who might really have insight into the things Paul’s talking about; what it’s like to sustain excellence at the absolute top,” the director of miniseries told Screen Rant.

“There’s a handful: Clooney, Denzel [Washington], Tom Cruise. There’s a handful of people that have got there and stayed there.”

Apart from the pair’s stellar career, Ethan revealed George and Paul do share a similar set of thinking.

“He’s a political person; he’s a civic person. He likes to direct. He’s had a long, unbelievable career, and so I thought that he might relate to it,” he continued.

“And, of course, he loved Paul Newman. He knew him, and they also share the ability to make it look easy. They make it look fun, and I appreciate that.”