Hollywood star George Clooney has revealed he was taken to hospital with excruciating stomach pains after losing almost 12kg for his latest movie.
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
