George Clooney Jokes Ben Affleck Is Campaigning to Be Sexiest Man Alive… Again!

It was date night for George Clooney and wife and Amal at the premiere of “The Tender Bar.” George, who produced and directed the film, chatted with “Extra’s” Jenn Lahmers while on his “big date night.”

George said he could relate to the coming-of-age film, based on the best-selling book by J.R. Moehringer about a boy who grows up learning about life in the bar where his uncle works. “The idea of growing up in a bar… I’m Irish Catholic, what else would I do…? My Uncle George lived above a bar, I spent a good portion of my youth misspent, buying him cigarettes and things.”

He said of working with Ben Affleck for the first time, “It was fun.” He had more than a little fun talking about Ben, too, joking, “He was basically our last choice. Eventually, we ran out… ‘Well, alright, give it to Ben…’ Well, Matt [Damon] right off the bat said, ‘We don't have enough money for him.’”

Getting serious, he added, “No, it was great. He's a great friend and he's a wonderful actor. He was given a part that he can do something with, and it was really fun.”

Of course, Jenn couldn’t let him go without mentioning that George and Ben have both played Batman. “It’s like dueling Batmans,” she said.

George took it one step further, saying, “And dueling Sexiest Man Alive. He's only got one. You know what I'm saying?” noting that he’s a two-time Sexiest Man Alive himself.

Clooney joked that Ben was hoping for a repeat, saying, “He's running a really big campaign this year. He really wants it.”