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How much is this film coloured by your father's recent experiences of running for office?

George Clooney: There were certainly elements of it. There's a scene in the car with Jennifer Ehle and myself that was pretty much directly the result of a conversation I had with my father about running for Congress. There are hands that you have to shake that you wouldn't normally shake and it's unfortunate but that's the way it is... just to raise finances alone unless you're independently wealthy, which my father isn't. Even a small congressional district in Kentucky can cost you a couple of million dollars to run. So, you end up having to... not make deals but you end up having to do all those parties and show up at all those events and shake hands with people that you normally wouldn't find attractive.

How closely do the themes of this film - morality and compromise - reflect the modern political world?

George Clooney: I do know that there are certain deals made all the time for cabinet posts, I know that for sure. We know that scandal is not uncommon. I think people will position whatever their government ailment is around it. But I think that it reflects things that are pretty timeless. And they're not necessarily restricted to government - they can apply equally to power or hubris.

Was the idea of compromise that underpins this story one of the big appeals for you?

George Clooney: I think that one of the questions the film is trying to raise is: "Is it worth it?" It's basically the same question that we all are facing at one time or another... if it betters yourself and harms someone else, is it worth it? And sometimes the answer might be "yes". I mean, if negative advertising about someone results in some rotten things being said about them but the right guy gets in office and those elections have consequences in other people's lives, then it's worth it, I suppose. So, the question is always at what point is that moral scale where it's actually worth doing.

What was the trickiest thing for you about playing a politician?

George Clooney: The funny thing is that playing a candidate is tricky because you always think that actors have this gigantic ego, and they do, but the ego it takes to be able to pose for a photo that involves having your chin up like this [poses like a political candidate for a poster campaign]... politicians have a tremendous amount of ego to be able to do it. It's very hard when the product your selling to an entire country is yourself and you're just selling the hell out of it all the time. You know: "I'm better than everybody else in the room..." Listen, we have to have it and we need someone who's really good at it but ego was something that was really tricky to embrace as a politician. They really are saying: "I'm the best!"

The film shows a side of politics where you have to trade your soul to get to the top. How Machiavellian is Hollywood?

George Clooney: Well, when I die I go to hell, I know that [laughs]! Actors aren't like that. The business can be that way, there's a certain cut-throat element. While I'm sure you guys have all met a few actors that you'd like to take their heads off, most of them are pretty kind to one another because you're so lucky when you get to be in position where you get to be in a film. You're very privileged and you understand that it's not just your brilliance that got you there... that you're sitting on the shoulders of a lot of happy accidents along the way. So, you recognise that in one another. And so I think that there's a certain generosity in most actors that I don't see in politics.

Notwithstanding your father's campaign, is this the very nearest you'll get to running for office in anything at all?

George Clooney: I think you just saw what would happen if I took office [laughs]. No, I have a very good life and I have a very comfortable existence. If I want to dip my toe into issues involved in politics, like in Sudan or Darfur... those kinds of issues where I can actually have some involvement then I'm happy to do it, and I don't have to compromise as a politician would. So, it's much nicer where I am. And they're a lot smarter than I am. I tip my hat to them.

What compels you to keep having a crack at directing and acting?

George Clooney: I did hundreds of hours of television as an actor before I even started getting into film work, so in some ways it feels like I've done a hundred films. I've been doing it a long time and you start to realise that creatively you need to continue trying new things. That doesn't mean there aren't ways of doing that as an actor but you want to be able to be creative in this industry and if directing and writing is something that you're interested in, it is an incredibly creative process. Acting is one element in a film. Directing is sort of the painter using all of those elements - sound and music and camera and putting it all together. And that can be fun and exciting. If you fail, it's incredibly upsetting... much more upsetting than when you're an actor. But when you succeed it's incredibly, incredibly exciting, so I like the risk of it all.

All your films treat the audience as adults. So, how frustrating for you is it when you're putting something political across such as this that people in our industry are obsessed with who is on the red carpet on your arm?

George Clooney: [Smiles] Well, I understand both worlds. I grew up around it all. I'm interested in making films that ask questions and don't particularly provide answers. I grew up in that era of filmmaking which took place when there was a tremendous amount of things going on in the country in the '60s and '70s. You had the Civil Rights movement, you had the anti-war movement, the women's rights movement, drug counter culture and those were reflected in film. I think there are a lot of things going on in my country and in the world right now that are starting to again be reflected in film and I like those kinds of films. On the other side of it, I know what those questions are and I know why they're asking them, but I'm a big boy now and I can handle it. But I do prefer to talk about the films.

Do you think you have too many skeletons in your closet to run for office? And when the film talks about the importance of loyalty, is loyalty something you hold dear in your personal relationships?

George Clooney: Loyalty, yes. I find it to be my favourite quality in people. I find it to be a tremendous quality. As far as skeletons in the closet, I think at some point we're going to have to start getting to the realisation and the point where you just have to start every candidate with the phrase: "Yeah, I did it!" And then just go on from there and talk about the issues because it's going to be very hard to find people who haven't smoked a joint or drunk some pond water along the way! We're in a strange state in our world where we sort of have that belief - and I have it too - that if it's written down there's got to be some truth in it. We haven't quite got to the spot where you go: "Well, it doesn't necessarily mean it's true." It could actually be completely made up and made to look very nice. So, we have to get to the point where scandal and those kinds of things are less and less important because otherwise we won't have anyone willing to run as politicians.

What interests you about politics? Is it something you discussed with your parents from childhood?

George Clooney: Well, my great-grandfather was a Mayor, my father was an anchorman for 40 years and if were an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio, you were also very politically involved. I grew up at a time where I think most people had a social and political conscience. Some of the biggest changes in our country's political history happened at the time I was growing up, so I was raised to be a part of those things and to participate and I will continue to do that as much as I can.