George Clooney Consults German Chancellor Angela Merkel

It’s good to be a worldwide megastar! Hollywood leading man George Clooney and his wife, Amal, met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for an hour this morning, after which he declared his support for Germany’s open-door policy toward refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria. The Clooneys were in Berlin to promote his new comedy film, “Hail, Caesar!” at the 66^th Internationale Filmfest Berlin — also known as Berlinale 2016.

The actor, director and humanitarian, and his human-rights attorney wife discussed the ongoing crises in the Middle East and the political reactions throughout Europe. Germany took in almost one out of every two Syrian applicants for asylum last year. George, who was also due to meet refugees in Berlin, earlier told reporters: “I absolutely agree with [Angela].”

George had told the BBC last year that he intended to do more to help the people of Syria because his marriage to Lebanese-born Amal (née Alamuddin) gave him a new perspective. The actor has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2008. The “Ocean’s Eleven” actor also has urged the United States to take in more refugees.

Addressing the Berlinale a day earlier, George admitted that the film industry as a whole takes too long to respond to international humanitarian crises. “I’ve struggled to find ways to make a film about Sudan, about Darfur — something very close to me and which I spend a lot of time on, but I haven’t been able to find the proper script,” he said. “It’s hard enough to find a good script for anything, and you don’t want to do it badly — because if you do, you only get one chance.”

When a reporter questioned the Oscar-winner’s commitment to Syria, George snapped a little bit. “I spend a lot of my time working on these things,” he said. “And it’s an odd thing to have someone stand up and ask, ‘What are you doing about it?’”