George Clooney is a diehard fan of Kentucky basketball (and Aaron Bradshaw)

You may know of George Clooney as one of this generation’s biggest movie stars — a two-time Oscar winner and four-time Golden Globe honoree. You may know that the 62-year-old got his start in Kentucky, born in Lexington and growing up in Augusta before attending NKU.

But did you know that Clooney is also a diehard Kentucky basketball fan?

He’s kept his allegiance mostly quiet, though he did confirm he was a “huge Kentucky fan” and followed the Cats closely back in 2015. That’s about it. But he’s now ready to come clean and publicly dive head-first into his membership to Big Blue Nation.

Cinema Blend‘s Sean O’Connell, also a big Kentucky fan, interviewed Clooney ahead of his new film, The Boys in the Boat, sporting a blue UK polo. That led to a quick back-and-forth about the Cats.

And it became clear almost immediately that Clooney follows the team pretty darn closely.

“I mean, that was a very disappointing loss the other day, but we’re still doing OK. It was a great win just before that,” Clooney said.

“(Lose) against the powerhouse, UNC Wilmington? You’re not scared of UNC Wilmington?” O’Connell responded.

“Oh my God. That’s just — what are we, 7-2 now?”

“Yeah, and we destroyed Penn, so.”

“I know, that was good.”

“We’re back on track.”

Then came the highlight of the entire interview: Clooney singling out Aaron Bradshaw as a difference-maker for the Cats.

“And you’ve got — the tall kid is back,” the Lexington native added. “Yeah, Bradshaw. He played really well.”

O’Connell noted he’d be making the trip to Atlanta this weekend to watch Kentucky take on North Carolina. Clooney responded just as any diehard BBN member would.

“We’ve got to beat them. Got to beat them,” he said.

Joel Edgerton, a star of the film, just sat and watched the entire exchange unfold.

“You don’t care about this. This doesn’t matter to you,” Clooney joked. “He doesn’t care.”

O’Connell pushed Edgerton to join in on the fun, ultimately leading to a “Go Big Blue” from the film star — a Golden Globe nominee in his own right.

George Clooney 🤝 Kentucky Basketball

(And he’s a big Aaron Bradshaw fan) pic.twitter.com/MGv12fdjXO

— KSR (@KSRonX) December 13, 2023

O’Connell closed out the interview telling Clooney he lived in Charlotte — a mind-blowing development for the Hollywood legend.

“How are you in Charlotte, in North Carolina wearing (a Kentucky polo)?” Clooney said. “You’re going to get killed!”

“My son is a sophomore at UK this year,” O’Connell responded.

“Somebody is gonna beat you. They’re gonna beat you wearing a UK shirt around.”

“You know how many Cats fans are around here?”

“Really?”

“Everywhere I walk, it’s Big Blue Nation everywhere.”

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George Clooney. One of us.