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Survey:
Your Favorite George Clooney Movie
Throughout history, some folks have gone to extraordinary lengths to strike gold . . .some have even died for it.
To what length would you go?
For "Three Kings" star George Clooney, the gold, per se, isn't the bullion he, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube are pursuing in the movie, but rather the script that brought it all to life in the first place -- a script loaded with comedy, drama, pain and lunacy. All from the fertile mind of writer/director David O. Russell ("Flirting With Disaster").
Clooney was so in love with the script, in fact, it almost made him a stalker. He literally tracked Russell from coast to coast to get the part of Special Forces Captain Archie Gates -- a role considered by such heavyweights as Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson and Nicolas Cage.
"From the very beginning, from the first time I read the script, I thought that this was as good a script as you are going to get a chance to do," Clooney recalled for me recently. "I thought if (Russell) gets half of what's written in the script on the screen, we'll all be just fine. Then it was just a matter of chasing him around trying to get the job."
Clooney's humility isn't something he's discovered since his weekly "ER" checks stopped rolling in. He's been modest since his start in the early '80s, when he ventured out to L.A. and slept in a friend's closet for a year while looking for work.
Bottom line, the name "Clooney," championed by his aunt Rosemary and dad, Nick (a broadcaster and later, American Movie Classics host), didn't guarantee him any success on any level then -- or now.
"I don't remember them saying in 1982 when I got off the plane in California, 'Rosemary Clooney's nephew? Come on, we've got a series for you.' It just doesn't happen," says the Kentucky native.
"The only great advantage of having someone in your family that worked in the industry and had the ride like Rosemary did, is understanding what not to do. She made mistakes in the '50s and some were big ones. So that's a great lesson. I was very lucky just because of that," he says.
Real Video: Survey: What's your favorite George Clooney movie? As seasoned acting veterans, stars Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening are used to dealing with the madness that comes with being a star, and leading anything but ordinary lives. But what about the three young stars of the movie? Granted, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari and Wes Bentley are not complete strangers to the business. But you know with the continued success of this film and the constant hum of the Oscar buzz, that things are bound to change. In other words, say goodbye to being "ordinary." In a recent interview, Birch, Suvari and Bentley told me how they'll try to handle the change. Or will things change? Birch: "I think that everything I wanted to get and hoped for out of this film, I already got by doing it -- working with (director) Sam Mendes, Kevin and Annette. They are incredibly talented and focused people," she says. "If anything more happens, it's just the cherry on top of the sundae for me." Bentley: Things might be different (in the future), but right now they're staying ordinary," he says. "I just have to take it day by day to keep it ordinary." One thing he confesses has changed, is his eye for the beauty in the world around him, taught to him by his character, Ricky. "His idea of beauty in the world was so strong," Bentley says. "I don't think I'll ever be able to watch it enough. It's actually really comforting. Things in life that were obtrusive before are no longer obtrusive. They're really beautiful. It stays with me."
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Hear Clooney and "Three Kings" co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube describe the intense physical demands of making the film. Trivia: Watching George Clooney Operate
Whether you're a fan of his TV shows or movies, you have to admit either way that it's fun to watch the way George Clooney operates. Click here to test your knowledge of Clooney's life and career. No Ordinary 'Beauty'
The burning question throughout the smash hit drama, "American Beauty" is if there is "nothing worse than being ordinary." 
Suvari: "You know things have changed when you start getting more limo rides, and maybe going to the Oscars, or having the opportunity to work with great actors in the future," she says. "So I'm just going with it right now and seeing what comes my way, but yet working as hard as I can and doing my very best. And I'm really going to stick to Mena. I really feel that I'm still clumsy old Mena in a lot of ways." 
Editor's Note: To participate, you'll need RealPlayer, a software download available free from Progressive at its www.real.com site. Select the RealPlayer option to receive both RealAudio 4.0 and RealVideo