While promoting his new movie, George Clooney talks Kentucky-North Carolina basketball

Out promoting his movie “The Boys in the Boat,” George Clooney ended up talking Kentucky vs. North Carolina basketball with Sean O’Connell, the managing editor of CinemaBlend.

The most famous native of Augusta, Kentucky, Clooney noticed that O’Connell, who is based in Charlotte, was wearing a University of Kentucky shirt.

“We’ve got to beat them,” said Clooney of Saturday’s Kentucky-North Carolina game in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. “We’ve got to beat them.”

When Clooney asked O’Connell why he was wearing a UK shirt, the host said his son is a sophomore at UK this year.

“Someone is going to beat you wearing a UK shirt around,” Clooney said.

“You know how many Cats fans are around here,” O’Connell replied. “Big Blue Nation is everywhere.”

“The Boys in the Boat” opens in theaters Dec. 17. Directed by Clooney, it tells the story of the University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. It stars Callum Turner and Joel Edgerton.

This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 4:40 PM.

John Clay

Lexington Herald-Leader

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John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky, he covered UK football from 1987 until being named sports columnist in 2000. He has covered 20 Final Fours and 42 consecutive Kentucky Derbys. Support my work with a digital subscription