LOS ANGELES?He?s the world?s most famous bachelor who travels all over. George Clooney? No, that?s the character he plays in ?Up in the Air,? writer-director Jason Reitman?s excellent follow-up to ?Juno.?

George knows that Jason wrote the role, a charismatic man who is often ?up in the air? and engages in relationships on the fly, with him in mind. In an earlier interview in Toronto, the actor said, ?I?m well aware of the things that people will see as shortcomings in my life. I?m unapologetic about them. I live my life the way I have and I hope it works out.?

Right now, things are working out well with George and his new girlfriend, Elisabetta Canalis, an Italian TV host and swimsuit model. In ?Up in the Air,? George plays Ryan Bingham, a man who fires people for a living and occasionally goes on motivational speech engagements. He has terrific chemistry with Vera Farmiga, in the role of a woman who racks up those frequent flier miles as fast as Ryan does.

The film also features a brilliant newcomer, Anna Kendrick. Remember the name because Anna might join her co-stars in snagging acting nominations come awards season time. She is that good in this film (she?s also in the next two ?Twilight? movies).

Of Anna, George raved: ?Boy, I didn?t know who Anna was until the table reading. I tried to get Jason to fire her because she was going to steal the movie (laughs).?

We all know that beneath George?s simpatico charm and flippant humor lies a man who?s passionate about humanitarian causes. He talked sensibly about his advocacy in this press con, but today we?ll focus on the lighter aspects of his life. Like, is Elisabetta really his current (he quipped that he does not want what that word connotes) girl? Read on.

Jason wrote the lead character with you in mind. How did you react when you first read his script?

He did write it with me in mind which can always worry you a little bit. But the Coen brothers also wrote ?Burn After Reading? for me, which really scared the hell out of me ... But having said that, I had no notes on a script like that. It?s like working with the Coens or Soderbergh or with people that you really trust. You go in and say, ?Ok, you?ve written a great script. You know what you want to do. I?m in for this ride.?

The question is, whether or not you accept the role from the beginning and that means you have to accept all of the comparisons and the things that will come along with it. I?m a grownup. I know what that entails ...

Your performance is understated and yet you go into layers that we?ve never seen you do before. Does Jason really bring these things out of actors?

Yes, he does. Here?s the thing about Jason. In order to address Jason as a director, you have to address him as a writer first and foremost because he writes the parts in a way that demands you not to play them a certain way. So right off the bat, he telegraphed how he wants this performance to feel and look. Then you get on the set and he?s very good about saying, ?You?re always a little bit off kilter with him.? With the Coen brothers, less is nothing. It?s like, ?Yeah, do it like Popeye.?

With Jason, he is, ?I want this really big; I want this really small.? He knows it. The nice thing is, he?s not shy about it. He doesn?t tiptoe around you. He?s not mean at all, but he?ll come over and go, ?No, that doesn?t work, don?t do that.? I appreciate that. I like directors who say, ?You know what, faster really works. Just say it faster and it?s funnier.?

He knew exactly what that story was. He knew what the ramifications of me personally doing a movie like this are. There are going to be obvious comparisons along the way.

So what was your reaction when you come to the parts where your character speaks about marriage, for example?

It?s funny. There were quite a few of those. I thought Jason had taken some from, like, a Barbara Walters interview I did in 1996. I did say, like, ?We die alone?? I actually said that in an interview. It was a very funny process all the way around. I?d seen Jason when we were doing the rounds, when I was in ?Michael Clayton? and he was doing the ?Juno? rounds. So I saw him at all of the events. He said, ?I?m working on a script I want to talk to you about.?

He showed up at my house in Italy with the script. He was going to stay for a couple of days. I was like, ?I?m not going to read it right now because if it sucks, then we?re going to have a really miserable two days here. I?m going to have to talk about everything else. So I?ll read it after you leave.? He goes, ?Okay.? I went upstairs and read it immediately. I came down, threw it on the table, and said, ?Okay, let?s go do this movie.?

The minute I read the script, I understood why I was probably the right person for this job. Part of it requires talking about things that are tricky to talk about for almost everybody but sometimes for me, in particular. Things that are cute when you?re 26 aren?t always cute when you?re 48. I?m well aware of that. I felt that it was an interesting world to look at and let everybody else point and laugh. I was okay with that ... So I thought it would be a really good cathartic thing to do.

Your motivational speaker character always has that speech about our backpacks, how relationships can be heavy, that maybe they?re not worth carrying around. How do you handle your own relationships?

I put them all in a backpack (laughter). I keep them all. I deal with them sort of the same way all of us do. I?m successful with some of them and not successful with some of them. They?re always ever-changing. My father and I had a rough go when I was in my early 20s as a lot of fathers and sons do. Now he is one of my best friends. My mother and I have always been close. My friends have been a big part of my life for a long time. So with relationships, I deal with them the exact same way everybody in this room deals with them. It?s just that sometimes mine?s a little more amplified.

Still going by the theme of this movie, who is the co-pilot in your life?

Well, I?ve been flying Alitalia.

Is she the current co-pilot?

You can?t say current, that?s just ? She?s? I have a nice co-pilot.

Permanent or what?

Now, see? Now you?re projecting. I don?t know.

You?ve had a lot of loves in your life. How do you break up with them? An actor sent a note to break up with his girlfriend by FedEx ?

Really? FedEx does that? Did he get charged a higher rate for that? (Laughter)

So how do you break up?

I use UPS.

Do you have moments of terrible loneliness?

I have been in some relationships where I?ve felt terribly alone. It doesn?t always mean just because you?re with someone that you?re incredibly happy and complete. Actually, I don?t think my experiences are any different than anybody else?s. They are just amplified a little more and in the world of cameras. That?s really true. I?ve had some absolutely great relationships, some not so great relationships and we?ve had some easy breakups and natural, made-sense breakups. We?ve had some rough ones. Sort of done it the same way most people have.

Do you think marriage will happen for you by the time you hit 50?

I?m doing fine right now. Let?s not jinx anything here (laughter).

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.