George Clooney had a health scare right before shooting began on his new Netflix film "The Midnight Sky."
E! News has confirmed that the actor was diagnosed with pancreatitis and hospitalized after experiencing stomach pains just days before cameras started rolling on the sci-fi project that counts him as both director and star. Clooney has since fully recovered.
The film features the 59-year-old Oscar winner as Augustine Lofthouse, an astrophysicist battling cancer who is tasked with warning a team of astronauts not to return to Earth. To get into character, the "Gravity" star decided to lose weight for the role.
"I think I was trying too hard to lose the weight quickly and probably wasn't taking care of myself," Clooney told the Mirror, which reported that the star dropped close to 30 pounds.
The "Up in the Air" leading man pointed out that filming in harsh climates made this shoot particularly challenging.
"It took a few weeks to get better, and as a director, it's not so easy because you need energy," he added. "We were out on this glacier in Finland, which made it a lot harder to work. But it certainly helped with the character."
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This isn't the first recent health scare that Clooney has endured. He suffered minor injuries after he was hit by a car while riding his motorized scooter to the "Catch-22" set in Sardinia in July 2018.
Rounding out "The Midnight Sky's" cast are Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Tiffany Boone, Demin Bichir and Kyle Chandler. The film hits theaters on Friday and will be released to Netflix on Dec. 23.
