Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly may center on a fictional world-famous movie star, played by a real-world movie star, but the themes driving the film — identity, self-perception, regret and reinvention — are universal according to the filmmaker and cast.
Jay Kelly, currently streaming on Netflix, stars George Cooney in the titular role. No longer in his prime, Kelly heads to Europe as a last-ditch effort to connect with one of his daughters (and to pick up an award), entourage in tow. During the trip, he is confronted with his life choices, relationships and legacy. At the same time, his longtime manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and publicist Liz (Laura Dern) must reckon with how they got to where they are, and whether those choices have actually made them happy.
Key Insights
- Even in stories about fame, audiences connect most to characters wrestling with universal questions of identity, regret and whether they chose the right life.
- Clooney, Sandler and Dern each grounded their performances not in autobiography, but in emotional contradictions, long-term relationships and lived industry experience.
- Baumbach’s process prioritized psychological truth over spectacle, using stardom as a backdrop rather than the emotional engine of the film.
At a recent press conference for Jay Kelly attended by Casting Networks, Baumbach, Clooney, Sandler and Dern spoke about the movie, their characters, and their longstanding friendships with one another. The actors offered insight into how they approached their roles, and what they drew upon to bring these characters to life.
While Jay Kelly is set in the rarified world of stardom, Baumbach — who co-wrote the script with actress Emily Mortimer — emphasized that the emotional core of the film is rooted in something far more relatable.
“When Emily and I wrote the script, it was something we talked a lot about — the movie star, the trappings, the world around him. All of that was a world we knew, and it was very interesting and compelling,” said Baumbach. “But I was more interested in these other emotional, psychological [aspects] … essentially kind of confronting mortality.”
Baumbach pointed out, “All three characters are dealing with this notion of, ‘Have I chosen right? Is this where I want to be?’ [Adam and Laura’s characters] are on different sides, but their conflicts are essentially the same.”
For Clooney, the appeal of the project was immediate, before he even read the script.
“I got a call that said that Noah’s gonna do a film with Adam, and was I interested? And I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’ And they said, ‘Do you wanna read the script?’ I said, ‘Well, yes, I’ll read the script, but I’m gonna do it.’”
While some viewers might assume Clooney was playing a version of himself, he made it clear that his way into the role required stepping away from personal parallels, rather than toward them.
“A lot of people have come up to me and said, ‘You know, it’s like playing yourself’… and it’s like, well, I don’t have the regrets that this guy has, my kids still like me … All the people that I’ve worked with, I still work with. I have a very different life than this guy.”
Instead of pulling from his own life, Clooney focused on the character’s contradictions: his charm, ego, obliviousness and the emotional damage Kelly leaves in his wake.
“I kind of thought it was like, this guy’s a dick … [my character] just sort of happily destroys lives along the way. And so, the only thing that I was concerned with … was, can you make him likable doing all of that?”
Fortunately, Clooney credited the script and the direction for conveying that likability, which he said therefore made him “very lucky to just be cradled with these incredible actors … It was easy.”
Dern, who plays Kelly’s publicist, mined her decades-long professional relationships in the industry to shape her portrayal of Liz. One detail, she noted, was pulled directly from life.
“My publicist always has an Hermès scarf tied to her purse, so that is definitely a very specific homage that Noah and I got to add.”
But beyond small details, Dern grounded her character in the emotional reality of what it meant to devote a life to someone’s career.
“We’ve been blessed to have 30-plus-year relationships with the people who represent us,” she said. “They are family and guides and mentors … and have to be unbearably patient.”
Stepping into the role also gave Dern a new perspective on the demands of that actor-publicist relationship.
“I guess I saw the other side of what it’s like to drag me around. So, hopefully, it’s brought more compassion to the experience.”
As for Sandler, he echoed Dern’s notion of drawing from his real-life creative partnerships to build the emotional foundation of the role of Ron, a man who has devoted his life to a star whose chaos overshadows the loyalty around him.
“Like Laura was saying, we have teams,” he said. “We are on the other side of it. You do see how much work goes into what they’re doing.”
One line in the film became Sandler’s key to the character:
“My favorite line … is, ‘You’re Jay Kelly, but I’m Jay Kelly, too,’” said Sandler. “I feel like our teams feel the same way. My character loved [Jay Kelly] like our teams truly love us. They believe in what we’re going after, and they feel the ups and the downs.”
That sense of devotion wasn’t difficult for Sandler to access, particularly opposite Clooney. The comedian admitted he felt a fondness for his co-star that mirrored Ron’s relationship with Kelly in the film.
“It was very easy to love George ’cause he’s just a great person,” said Sandler. “When he’s talking, I look at him, and I say, ‘Wow, I could listen to him all day.’”
That emotional throughline extends to one of Kelly’s most memorable lines in the film, “All my memories are movies,” which has resonated strongly with audiences, and with Clooney himself.
“I’ve been doing this for 40 years. If I see a film that I was in, I don’t remember it as a movie. I remember it as an experience on the set,” the Oscar-winning actor said. “I’ll remember the crew or the friendships. Because a lot of times, some of the worst films you ever done are where you make some of your best friends. So, when I see movies, my memories are of the experience I had on it.”
For Dern, that sentiment reflects what Jay Kelly ultimately captures, not just about fame or legacy, but about the people who walk beside you through it all. She noted that Jay Kelly marks her 12th collaboration with Baumbach, while her relationship with Clooney dates back to 1983, when they worked together early in their careers in Grizzly II: Revenge.
She has also been close with Sandler for years, and was keenly aware of his bond with his late manager/producer Bernie Brillstein, whom Sandler paid tribute to in the animated film Leo, by basing the voice and mannerisms of the title character on him.
Says Dern of Baumbach, Clooney and Sandler, “To have these three extraordinary men, artists, and true, true deep friends on this experience together, while making a movie about what you find in this journey of life, is just the greatest gift I could dream up.”
Key Takeaways
- Actors don’t need to “play themselves” to feel authentic — finding the character’s flaws and contradictions often creates deeper truth.
- Longstanding creative relationships can be a powerful emotional resource, helping actors access trust, devotion and shared history on screen.
- The most resonant performances come from focusing on human stakes — legacy, loyalty and connection — not status, success or image.
