George Clooney Reflects on His Broadway Play Being Broadcast Live

The "Ocean's Eleven" actor was at the 2025 Tony Awards when he spoke about his play, an adaptation of his 2005 film, being broadcast on CNN over the weekend.

George Clooney's play, "Good Night, and Good Luck," first debuted on the Broadway stage on March 12, 2025. The production had its penultimate performance on Saturday, June 7, at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City

It was a historic night for Broadway and for the actor's career, as it marked the first time a Broadway production was simultaneously televised on CNN.

"I can't tell you how exciting it is to do something that's never been done," Clooney said in a statement during a press release, prior to the play—which earned him a Tony nomination—being broadcast.

It had its final run on Sunday, June 8. That same night, Clooney attended the 78th Annual Tony Awards alongside his wife, Amal Clooney. Ahead of the ceremony, Clooney spoke to reporters, reflecting on everything that went into executing the broadcast.

"We were excited to do it 'cause it's a lot. You know, it's nerve-wracking," he said. "It's one of those things where we'd rehearsed it, obviously, 98 other times."

Clooney added that the idea to broadcast the performance came up just three weeks earlier. "So we didn't have a lot of time to get our act together," he admitted.

"And so there's all these other elements. You know, the play has to work, you got to make sure that everybody's doing everything right there. And then, the camera work has to work. So it's very complicated to pull all that together that quickly," he explained.

The film star added that they had one rehearsal on Friday and one on Saturday before shooting. At the end of the night, he walked away with the Tony for Best Lead Actor in a Play.