I first met George Clooney on the Warner Bros lot sometime in the mid 1990s, I was heading to the set of ER… and so was he, on a bicycle. He reminded me of Paul Newman in the famous scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, although George took a more direct route without Katherine Ross on his handlebars and being chased by an angry  bull.

Since then I have met George over numerous occasions at various events on the natural cycle of life and he has always been the same – charming, funny, friendly and accommodating. I recall interviewing him at ShoWest in Las Vegas while he was promoting Three Kings. I was the last in a lengthy line up. He was due on stage and the organisers were urging him to move… but he stayed and chatted. “I’d love to work in New Zealand,” he said. “I’ll play the drunk in the corner.”

Our paths briefly crossed again at the UK premiere of his latest film The Monument Men at the Odeon in Leicester Square last night, in which he does everything – act, direct, produce, write.

He was in good form – not just charming, friendly and accommodating, but quick too as he rapidly ‘did the entire line’. He saw my sketch and said, “oh, nice!” and signed his distinctive ‘GCy’ moniker.