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Even George Clooney's Kids Walk In On His Zoom Meetings

His son, Alexander, spoke fluent Italian while his dad was doing a virtual interview.
George Clooney's son Alexander walked in while the actor was doing a Zoom interview with a GQ reporter.
Gareth Cattermole via Getty Images
George Clooney's son Alexander walked in while the actor was doing a Zoom interview with a GQ reporter.

Remember back in 2017, when the prospect of a child entering the background of a work video call was so charming and novel that “BBC Dad” and his confident, arm-swinging toddler went viral?

It seems so quaint, now. These days, many of us are familiar with the sight of not just the kids but also the partners, roommates, parents and pets of the people we work with.

That’s even the case, it seems, if you’re on a Zoom call with George Clooney.

During an interview with GQ for a story that was published Tuesday, the 59-year-old dad was actually talking with reporter Zach Baron about his decision to have kids, when his three-year-old son Alexander popped into the chat.

There’s no publicly released video of the Zoom bombing, unfortunately — but we do know what happened.

Clooney invited little Alexander, who “has a mop of brown hair and chaotic teeth,” and has chocolate on his face, to say hi to the reporter. “Clooney gathers his son in his lap, and for a while he forgets about me and just talks to his boy,” Baron wrote.

Amal and George Clooney at the premiere of "Catch-22" on May 7, 2019.
Rachel Murray via Getty Images
Amal and George Clooney at the premiere of "Catch-22" on May 7, 2019.

“Hey, Alexander? Let’s see. How old are you now—15?” Clooney asked.

Alexander clarifies that no, he’s not 15, he’s three, “because I got my birthday.”

Clooney then asks Alexander if he speaks fluent Italian. He responds in the affirmative, and his dad asks him to say “it’s very hot today” in Italian.

“Molto caldo,” Alexander says.

“Molto caldo!” Clooney repeats proudly. Because when George Clooney’s son crashes a meeting, he does it in perfect Italian, naturally.

Alexander has a twin sister, Ella, who sadly didn’t make a cameo in the GQ interview. But Clooney talked about how before he met his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, married life and fatherhood were not among his goals.

“I was like, ‘I’m never getting married. I’m not gonna have kids,’” he said. “I’m gonna work, I’ve got great friends, my life is full, I’m doing well. And I didn’t know how un-full it was until I met Amal. And then everything changed. And I was like, ‘Oh, actually, this has been a huge empty space.’ ”

Amal and George Clooney at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding on May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England.
WPA Pool via Getty Images
Amal and George Clooney at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding on May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England.

After they married in Italy in 2014, Clooney said his life dramatically changed, “because I’d never been in the position where someone else’s life was infinitely more important to me than my own,” he said. “And then tack on two more individuals, who are small and have to be fed.…”

His relationship with his children deepened after he was in a motorcycle accident in Sardinia in 2018. A car turned directly in front him, he said, and he flew off his motorcycle, crushing the car’s windshield. He was lucky to land on his hands and knees; he said he had some minor damage to his knees and neck, but it could have been much worse.

In that moment, he thought about his children, he said.

“My kids were like a year old... it was just the thought that this was it and that I wasn’t gonna see them again.”

His wife has since forbidden him from driving motorcycles.

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