George Clooney Was So Badly Stricken With COVID He Was Forced To Direct New Film From Bed

George Clooney, who gained popularity in the ’90s with his portrayal of Dr. Doug Ross in the medical drama series ER, recently opened up about a health scare that confined him to bed during the production of his latest movie project, The Boys in the Boat.

During an interview with People magazine, Clooney revealed that there was a viral COVID outbreak on his movie set, which affected him and a host of others despite previous medical examinations and vaccinations.

George Clooney recounts his challenges with COVID on the set of ‘The Boys in the Boat’

“We’ve all tested, we’ve all been vaccinated. We all landed in London. We’re going to shoot the next day,” he explained. “And so we have a tiny dinner for the crew. Meaning the rowers, our kids, and [costars] Hadley [Robinson] and Courtney [Henggeler] and [Edgerton] and me, that’s it. A tiny room. And out of that tiny room, let’s say there were 18 people there, 17 people got Covid.”

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He further shared that his sickness got worse to the point that he had to direct some parts of the movie from a bed with the help of technology and co-producer Grant Heslov. “I was really sick, it was my first time getting COVID. I’m on an iPad hacking away from my bedroom, Grant was sitting on the camera, and they’d hold up the iPad to Cal and I’d go, ‘Ah, go fast.’ I’d rasp out ‘Faster’ whatever that was,” Clooney added. “Thankfully, the scenario didn’t last long. “We only had to do it for a week.”

Callum Turner says it was fun imagining George Clooney working via an iPad

Callum Turner, who plays the role of Joe Rantz in The Boys in the Boat, stated that although almost everybody on the movie set was affected by COVID-19, he and Heslov managed to escape one way or the other. “Yeah, everyone one by one went down around me,” he admitted to PEOPLE. “It was only me and Grant that didn’t get it for some reason.”

The actor, while recalling Clooney’s struggle with the disease, mentioned that it was thrilling to imagine the director working through an iPad. “It was funny,” Turner confessed. “George on his iPhone directing in his dressing gown from somewhere.”