George Clooney talks new Hulu series Catch-22 and the crash that made him quit riding motorcycles

With his new Hulu series Catch-22 currently available for streaming, star-executive producer George Clooney is opening up about bringing Joseph Heller's iconic novel to life, and the motorcycle crash that almost ended his life.

The 58 year old actor and producer sat down with The Hollywood Reporter, where he opened up about the crash, which happened in on the Italian island of Sardinia, while filming Catch-22.

'It was bad,' Clooney began, when asked if he really doesn't ride anymore. 'I hit him at 70 miles an hour so,' when his producing partner Grant Heslov added that he made a deal with Clooney right then and there.

Candid George: With his new Hulu series Catch-22 currently available for streaming, star-executive producer George Clooney is opening up about bringing Joseph Heller's iconic novel to life, and the motorcycle crash that almost ended his life

Candid George: With his new Hulu series Catch-22 currently available for streaming, star-executive producer George Clooney is opening up about bringing Joseph Heller's iconic novel to life, and the motorcycle crash that almost ended his life

'I made a deal, I said, 'cause literally, as we were on the side, as I was holding him, we were waiting for the ambulance, I said to myself, "If he lives, I'll never ride a motorcycle again,"' Heslov said.  

'Split my helmet in half, knocked me out of my shoes. I mean, it hit hard,' Clooney added, while wearing a sharp black suit with no tie.

'So, it was bad, and I was just waiting for the switch to turn off, cause I broke his windshield with my head, and I thought, oh well there's my neck, so if you get nine lives, I got all of them used up in one, so I can let go of motorcycle riding for awhile.'

Cast and crew: Heller's original 1961 novel had been adapted in the past, most notably with director Mike Nichols' 1970 adaptation starring Alan Arkin and Martin Balsam

Cast and crew: Heller's original 1961 novel had been adapted in the past, most notably with director Mike Nichols' 1970 adaptation starring Alan Arkin and Martin Balsam

Heller's original 1961 novel had been adapted in the past, most notably with director Mike Nichols' 1970 adaptation starring Alan Arkin and Martin Balsam.

The novel has been considered one of the most difficult to adapt, with Clooney saying they had originally passed until they read the scripts by series creators Luke Davies and David Michod.

'The process itself is tricky because you're always going to be held up against a novel that's beloved. So you're always going to be playing defense in a way. We thought, "Let's just take a big swing and let's see how bad we can screw it up."' 

No motorcycles: 'Split my helmet in half, knocked me out of my shoes. I mean, it hit hard,' Clooney added, while wearing a sharp black suit with no tie

No motorcycles: 'Split my helmet in half, knocked me out of my shoes. I mean, it hit hard,' Clooney added, while wearing a sharp black suit with no tie

When asked why Heller's novel is still relevant all these years later, Clooney offered that, 'absurdity is the key.'   

'Absurdity is really the key to this whole thing. The minute we think that there's anything normal about old men usually making decisions and young people dying, we have a problem. And it's so important to remember that,' he said.

While the show is absurd at its heart, Clooney said there are no references to President Donald Trump because that would almost be redundant.

No Trump: While the show is absurd at its heart, Clooney said there are no references to President Donald Trump because that would almost be redundant

No Trump: While the show is absurd at its heart, Clooney said there are no references to President Donald Trump because that would almost be redundant

Premiere: While the show is absurd at its heart, Clooney said there are no references to President Donald Trump because that would almost be redundant

Premiere: While the show is absurd at its heart, Clooney said there are no references to President Donald Trump because that would almost be redundant

'There's enough absurdity in our lives right now that we didn't really need to reference it. I think everybody understands that. Clooney added.

'It's not just here. You look at what just happened in Brazil, the Philippines, Hungary, Venezuela, go down the list,' he added. 

'Authoritarianism, it's crazy. It's always sort of hovering —the feeling of, like, "Wow, we're in strange times."'

The entire six-episode mini-series Catch-22 is currently streaming on Hulu. 

Absurdity: 'There's enough absurdity in our lives right now that we didn't really need to reference it. I think everybody understands that. Clooney added

Absurdity: 'There's enough absurdity in our lives right now that we didn't really need to reference it. I think everybody understands that. Clooney added

New series: The entire six-episode mini-series Catch-22 is currently streaming on Hulu

New series: The entire six-episode mini-series Catch-22 is currently streaming on Hulu

Advertisement

George Clooney talks his new Hulu series Catch-22 and the crash that made him quit motorcycles

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.