When it comes to picking an adjective to describe himself, George Clooney chooses "lucky."
In a freshly printed and highly revealing sit-down with The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar winner, director, husband and now father is counting his blessings in the same fashion as most ordinary men. While he and his barrister bride Amal Clooney have spent the months after the birth of their twins, Alexander and Ella, in as much solitude as a high-profile couple can muster tucked away in Lake Como, the two have finally opened their doors to the public by way of a very candid interview.
From George's diaper duties and the prospect of more children to the actor's intricate proposal, the star keen on privacy has decided now is the time to share the stories that have shaped his blissful personal life. To start, the longtime bachelor is now a father to two. "Now my house is filled with the warm sounds of babies crying," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "You should see when my friends show up and see me change a diaper, the laughter that comes from them. I go, 'I know, I know.' I've given them so much shit for so many years, I deserve every bit of it."
According to his off-screen leading lady, he's doing a great job. When asked during the interview what has most surprised her about George in the four years they've been together, Amal replied, "What a great father he is."
Of course, no matter how smoothly parenting duties are going, two newborns still take their toll on the first-time mom and dad—regardless of how famous they are. "We are unrested—we're both unrested, and she's more unrested than me, obviously," George told The Hollywood Reporter. "But I'm a very good diaper guy, which I didn't know I would be."
As the star told the magazine, fatherhood "had never been part of my DNA." He also revealed that the couple did not even discuss children until after they became Mr. and Mrs., but ultimately decided they wanted to give it a go. "Amal and I were talking and we just felt we'd gotten very lucky, both of us, and we should share whatever good luck we've got. It would seem self-centered to just have that belong to us," he told the magazine.
Soon, the human rights attorney was expecting twins without the help of fertility drugs, George confirmed to the magazine. Twins are no mystery to Amal's family considering her sister Tala Alamuddin also has twins. However, while the breaking news would later shock the world, the mom and dad-to-be were also surprised.
"He goes, 'Well, there's one,'" George recalled to the magazine of their doctor during the ultrasound. "And I said, 'Great.' And then he goes, 'And there's the second one.' And I was like, 'What?' We just sat there, staring at that piece of paper they give you, and I kept thinking there was a mistake."
They've also since taken in a Yazidi refugee who was almost killed by ISIS. The individual is based at Clooney's Augusta, Ken. home, and is studying at the University of Chicago.
"He was on this bus to Mosul, and ISIS shot the two bus drivers and said, 'Anybody who wants to go to college, we will shoot them,'" the activist recalled. "He survived and came to America. He got through all the checks, and once he got through those, it was like, 'Listen, we got your back. You want to get an education? You want to move your life forward? This is something that we can do.'"
While they have since welcomed two additions to their family, it doesn't sound like there are plans for more members in the future. "I'm 39," Amal told THR, shaking her head to a question about more children. "I already had them quite late."
Still, it seems the pieces of George's personal life have found their perfect fit ever since he laid eyes on the barrister in the city of their future home together in 2013. Fast forward through six months of dating and one picturesque safari, the actor had decided she was the woman for him, took a "full-on leap of faith" and choreographed a proposal after a pasta dinner set to the tunes of his famous aunt, Rosemary Clooney.
"My only doubt was if she thought maybe it was too soon," the Suburbicon director said of asking the big question, during which he spent 20 minutes on his knee while Amal stood in shock. "But there was no doubt that we were the right couple and that we were the right team. And we were a team from right off the bat. Immediately, we felt we were just happy, and we have been happy ever since."
Now, George's eyes are on his family's future with hopes that his son and daughter grow up with a sense of humor, compassion and interests with their "lucky" mom and dad at their side.
"Every single day of my life, I just feel lucky," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "Lucky in my career. Lucky enough to have found the perfect partner. Sometimes in life it doesn't happen on your schedule, but you find the person that you were always supposed to be with. That's how I feel, and I know that's how Amal feels."