After being screened in cinemas earlier this year, Jay Kelly has arrived globally on Netflix today (December 5). The movie is led by acting heavyweight and director George Clooney, and also stars Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, among others.

Further cast includes Greta Gerwig, Alba Rohrwacher, Josh Hamilton, Lenny Henry, Emily Mortimer, Nicôle Lecky, Thaddea Graham, Isla Fisher, Louis Partridge, Charlie Rowe. Jay Kelly has been written by Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, while Oscar nominee Baumbach directed the movie, which is already being tipped for Oscar glory.

Jay Kelly follows the titular character (played by Clooney) as he wistfully looks back on his life and goes on a journey of self-discovery, confronting both his past and present. Throughout it, he is accompanied by his loyal manager Ron (Adam Sandler). The film looks at the intersection of life’s regrets and notable glories and our various identities.

Is Jay Kelly based on a true story?

No, Jay Kelly is a fictional, iconic movie star who is in the later years of his career. Although he isn’t a real person, Jay Kelly evokes great acting legends such as Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, and Robert De Niro, who have all had lengthy and incredible careers that have immortalised them and who are all chameleons in the craft.

The film starts with Jay losing his mentor Peter (Broadbent), and a distressing moment with his friend (Crudup). These two incidents lead Jay to feel a chasm emerging between his real self and the movie star persona that most see. Jay and Ron travel across Europe as the actor explores his two different identities, while reminiscing about working on past films.

Director Baumbach shed light on the conception of Jay Kelly, saying: “It was a compelling character and idea for me, but I couldn’t have really told you why then. I can say this now with hindsight; if you make a movie about an actor, you’re inherently making a movie about identity and performance. We come to points in our lives where we’ve settled on an idea of ourselves.” 

Baumbach and Mortimer wrote the part of Jay Kelly with Good Night, and Good Luck star Clooney in mind. After sending the script to him, they got a response within 24 hours confirming that he was on board with the film after that actor simply texted back saying “I’m in”.

Reflecting on why Clooney was the only one to play Jay Kelly, Baumbach said: “We all have a relationship with George Clooney as an actor and movie star from over the years. That’s what movie stars can do for us. They’re our avatars. We identify with them, but also there’s a certain kind of wish-fulfilment.” 

He went on to say about the character: “It’s a fantasy, but they give us a point of entry into the fantasy. You love watching them. And so in this case, it’s a movie about a movie star who is playing our human- ness and our vulnerabilities and our failings.”

Clooney also opened up about taking on Jay Kelly, saying he knew “how to play this part” and was interested because of Baumbach’s previous work. He explained how Jay Kelly was different to him: “This character has a lot more regrets than I would have, because, luckily for me, fame came much later in my life. I got to figure out how to live life before I figured out how to be famous, and I don’t think this character did.”

He went on to add how he’d known people, including his aunt, who’d found fame at a young age and struggled to deal with it, particularly when it started to go away. Clooney said: “I’ve always felt, again, very lucky that it took such a long time for me, but also it gave me a chance to learn how not to be Jay Kelly in real life.”

Jay Kelly is streaming on Netflix now