Six years ago, George Clooney married his wife, Amal - and he hasn't looked back since.
In an interview with the Observer last week to promote his Netflix film The Midnight Sky, the actor opened up about how the discussions he had with Amal on the fate of the Parthenon Marbles while they were still dating, helped forge a strong bond between them.
It is no secret that American actor George Clooney and his wife Lebanese-British barrister Amal, are passionate for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens.
Speaking to the Observer, Clooney recalled the backlash he received from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was then mayor of London, when he argued in favour of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
"Your current prime minister literally compared me to Hitler,’ Clooney said.
Johnson said that Clooney was “advocating nothing less than the Hitlerian agenda” for looting “London’s cultural treasures."
This happened in 2014, when the Greek government at that time hired a legal team including human rights lawyer Amal, to advise it on its bid to secure the return of the marbles. Amidst the media attention sparked by the incident, he met Amal for dinner that night, who he was secretly dating at the time.
"She goes to me, ‘Y’know I’ve worked on that case? So listen. Here’s a lot of stuff you should say.’ She told me about Unesco rulings. Gave me all this info," he continued.
Just a few months later, the couple got married in Venice.
Clooney admitted that the "dinner discussing Boris and Hitler" unknowingly brought him closer to his current wife.
Not only is he now a married man, but he's a dad to two kids! Amal gave birth to fraternal twins in June 2017.
“I’ll send him a note. A thank you note. And a comb,” the actor added.
30 MEPs ask British Prime Minister to return the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece
Parthenon Sculptures
The 2,500-year-old marble sculptures have been the subject of dispute for over three decades, with Greece and the international community repeatedly calling on the British Museum to return them to their place of origin.
The sculptures were ‘violently’ and illegally removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the 1800s and sold to the British Museum.
The British Museum has consistently refused to return the priceless marbles.
Greece steps up efforts for return of Parthenon Sculptures ahead of 200th Anniversary of Greek War of Independence
