Before They Were Stars: George Clooney in a Weird Japanese TV Commercial

After the Academy Award nominations are announced, I love to spend the week doing “Before They Were Stars” features on some of the nominees to show how far they’ve truly risen. To no one’s surprise, George Clooney has earned yet another Oscar nomination for his performance in The Descendants, and he has supplied me with an abundance of “Before They Were Stars” material, whether it be in B-movies like Return of the Killer Tomatoes or failed TV sitcoms such as Baby Talk. It’s very common for Hollywood stars to collect big paydays by appearing in weird TV ads in Japan, but that generally happens AFTER they become famous. However, sometime in the mid-eighties, a younger, unknown Clooney appeared in this very bizarre car commercial from Japan that involves him… uh, staring in awe at a woman’s cheek and pressing his face against the car’s back window. What else can I say? It’s Japan!