Editing George Clooney (section)

===Breakthrough and stardom (1994–1999)===

Clooney rose to fame when he played Dr. [[Doug Ross]], alongside [[Anthony Edwards (actor)|Anthony Edwards]], [[Julianna Margulies]], and [[Noah Wyle]], on the hit NBC medical drama ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' from 1994 to 1999. After leaving the series in 1999, he made a [[cameo appearance]] in the 6th season and returned for a guest spot in the show's final season.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=ER Bringing Back Clooney with Margulies before Checking Out |url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/ER-Clooney-Margulies-1002020.aspx |access-date=January 21, 2009 |website=TV Guide |archive-date=January 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124151047/http://www.tvguide.com/News/ER-Clooney-Margulies-1002020.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> For his work on the series, Clooney received two [[Primetime Emmy Award]] nominations for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series|Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series]] in 1995 and 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Primetime Emmy nominations for 1995–Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series |url=http://www.emmys.com/nominations/1995/Outstanding%20Lead%20Actor%20In%20A%20Drama%20Series |access-date=January 24, 2013 |publisher=Emmys |archive-date=July 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728023606/http://www.emmys.com/nominations/1995/Outstanding%20Lead%20Actor%20In%20A%20Drama%20Series |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Primetime Emmy nominations for 1996–Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series |url=http://www.emmys.com/nominations/1996/OUTSTANDING%20LEAD%20ACTOR%20FOR%20A%20DRAMA%20SERIES |access-date=January 24, 2013 |publisher=Emmys |archive-date=July 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728041328/http://www.emmys.com/nominations/1996/OUTSTANDING%20LEAD%20ACTOR%20FOR%20A%20DRAMA%20SERIES |url-status=live }}</ref> He also earned three [[Golden Globe Award]] nominations for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama|Best Actor – Television Series Drama]] in 1995, 1996, and 1997 (losing to co-star [[Anthony Edwards (actor)|Anthony Edwards]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1997) |url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/?param=/year/1996 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521182756/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/?param=%2Fyear%2F1996 |archive-date=May 21, 2013 |access-date=January 24, 2013 |publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1998) |url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/?param=/year/1997 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521174533/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/?param=%2Fyear%2F1997 |archive-date=May 21, 2013 |access-date=January 24, 2013 |publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association}}</ref>

Clooney began appearing in films while working on ''ER''. His first major Hollywood role was in the horror comedy-crime thriller ''[[From Dusk till Dawn]]'', directed by [[Robert Rodriguez]] and co-starring [[Harvey Keitel]]. He followed its success with the romantic comedy ''[[One Fine Day (1996 film)|One Fine Day]]'' with [[Michelle Pfeiffer]], and the action-thriller ''[[The Peacemaker (1997 film)|The Peacemaker]]'' with [[Nicole Kidman]]. Clooney was then cast as [[Batman]] in [[Joel Schumacher]]'s ''[[Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin]]'', which was a modest box office performer, but a critical failure (with Clooney himself calling the film "a waste of money").<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shepherd |first=Jack |date=May 26, 2015 |title=George Clooney apologises for 'destroying' Batman & Robin 18 years later |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/george-clooney-apologises-for-destroying-batman--robin-18-years-later-10276879.html |access-date=September 19, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |archive-date=September 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926020740/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/george-clooney-apologises-for-destroying-batman--robin-18-years-later-10276879.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1998, he co-starred in the crime-comedy ''[[Out of Sight]]'' opposite [[Jennifer Lopez]], marking the first of his many collaborations with director [[Steven Soderbergh]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1998 |title=He's a Thief, She's a Marshal, They're an Item |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B05E5DB103AF935A15755C0A96E958260 |access-date=September 19, 2015 |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016214157/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B05E5DB103AF935A15755C0A96E958260 |url-status=live }}</ref> He also starred in ''[[Three Kings (1999 film)|Three Kings]]'' during the last weeks of his contract with ''ER''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Three Kings |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/three-kings-1999 |access-date=September 19, 2015 |publisher=rogerebert.com |archive-date=September 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914171628/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/three-kings-1999 |url-status=live }}</ref>

While ''ER'' was a hit, he expanded to form two production companies. The first production company he founded was Mirador Entertainment in February 1996, with former [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] vice president Deborah Leoni later serving as partner in July 1996, of which the company signed a two-year deal with [[NBC]] via the [[Universal Television|NBC Studios]] production company.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=McDonald |first=Paul |title=George Clooney |date=2019-05-02 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |year=2019 |isbn=9781911239321 |publication-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref> The second he founded was Maysville Pictures (formerly Left Bank Productions, which was renamed due to a conflict with the music management firm),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karon |first=Paul |date=1997-08-19 |title=Clooney tunes prod’n pipeline |url=https://variety.com/1997/film/news/clooney-tunes-prod-n-pipeline-1116678266/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> named for his home town, with partner [[Robert Lawrence (producer)|Robert Lawrence]], and signed a three-year deal with [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] in November 1996.<ref name=":0" /> In 1998, the NBC deal was replaced by a new TV deal for Maysville Pictures with [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|Warner Bros. Television]] and [[CBS]], shortly before leaving ''ER'', and rendered Mirador Entertainment defunct.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hontz |first=Jenny |date=1998-06-19 |title=Clooney cloned |url=https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/clooney-cloned-1117477715/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> In order to expand Maysville into the television business, the company hired Ben Cosgrove, Pam Williams (who runs the TV side) and Kevin Field to run the company.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Dan |date=1998-08-05 |title=Maysville will add 3 exex to expand bill |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/maysville-will-add-3-exex-to-expand-bill-1117479162/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> In September 1999, Clooney split from producer Robert Lawrence in the Maysville partnership.<ref name=":0" />