HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - Oscar-winning actor George Clooney will be presented tonight with the 46th American Film Institute Life Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization.
``George Clooney is America's leading man,'' Howard Stringer, chairman of the AFI Board of Trustees, said when the honor was announced last year. ``Director, producer, writer and actor -- a modern-day screen icon who combines the glamour of a time gone by with a ferocious passion for ensuring art's impact echoes beyond the screen. AFI is proud to present him with its 46th Life Achievement Award.''
Clooney, 56, will receive the award during a gala event at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Actress Julia Roberts will present him with the honor.
The award honors a person ``whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.''
The ceremony will be recorded and broadcast as a television special on TNT June 21. It will be rebroadcast in September on Turner Classic Movies during a night when Clooney films will be aired.
Clooney has received eight Oscar nominations, winning twice -- for supporting actor in ``Syriana'' and as a co-producer of best-picture winner ``Argo.''
His other Oscar-nominated film credits include ``Michael Clayton,'' ``Up in the Air,'' ``Good Night, and Good Luck'' and ``The Descendants.'' He has also appeared in films such as ``O Brother, Where Art Thou?,'' ``Solaris,'' ``Gravity,'' ``Three Kings,'' ``Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'' and the ``Ocean's'' film triology.
Clooney began his career with bit parts in a variety of TV shows before scoring his big break in the hit medical drama ``ER.''
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