George Clooney brought a French flair to the 2026 Golden Globe Awards after getting French citizenship. While presenting an award onstage during the 83rd annual ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, the 64-year-old actor addressed the crowd in French.
The sweet moment comes week after the actor-filmmaker, his wife Amal and their kids Alexander and Ella were granted citizenship in France, per a naturalization decree obtained by the French newspaper Journal official.
“Bonsoir, mes amis,” began the Jay Kelly Golden Globe nominee before adding, “C’est un honneur d’être ici,” meaning “Good evening, my friends. It’s an honour to be here.” The moment drew applause and laughter from the audience and quickly became one of the night’s most talked-about highlights.
Joining Clooney onstage was his longtime friend and Ocean’s Eleven co-star Don Cheadle, who playfully joined in by greeting Clooney with his own “bonsoir.”
The pair shared lighthearted banter, including a joke about Clooney losing the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy award to Timothée Chalamet.
“We’re all winners here,” said Clooney while Cheadle quickly fired back, “Not really – you aren’t.”
George Clooney and Don Cheadle then presented the Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama, which was won by Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet.