Hollywood star George Clooney has revealed he was taken to hospital with excruciating stomach pains after losing almost 12kg for his latest movie.
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The actor directs and stars in the Netflix sci-fi movie The Midnight Sky, playing a lone scientist trying to warn a returning spaceship of catastrophe on earth.
To prepare for the role of a post-apocalyptic survivor, 59-year-old Clooney embarked on a weight-loss drive but was diagnosed with pancreatitis and suspects his extreme diet may have played a part.
"I was trying too hard to lose the weight quickly and probably wasn't taking care of myself," he told the UK's Daily Mirror.
"It took a few weeks to get better and as a director it's not so easy because you need energy.
"We were out on this glacier in Finland, which made it a lot harder work. But it certainly helped with the character."
The Midnight Sky is based on Lily Brooks-Dalton's acclaimed 2016 novel Good Morning, Midnight.
Clooney plays astronomer Augustine Lofthouse, stricken with illness and alone in a deserted Arctic observatory station.
Midnight Sky is at Australian cinemas from Thursday, and available on Netflix from December 23.
Australian Associated Press