George Clooney said he was worried about filming Ben Affleck in a bar for his new movie because of past alcoholism

• George Clooney spoke to The Times of London about directing his new movie "The Tender Bar."
• The Times reported that Clooney said he was worried about Ben Affleck filming in a bar.

George Clooney told The Times of London that he was worried about filming Ben Affleck in a bar considering the "Gone Girl" actor's history with alcohol addiction.

Clooney is the director of the upcoming movie "The Tender Bar," which is based on a memoir written by the US journalist JR Moehringer about his teenage years spent at his uncle's bar. Tye Sheridan plays Moehringer, and Affleck plays his uncle, Charlie.

The Times senior reporter Jonathan Dean said during the interview that Clooney was "a terrific gossip about his friend" Affleck. Dean, paraphrasing, wrote that Clooney told him he "was worried about filming in a bar because Affleck is a recovering alcoholic."

Insider has reached out to representatives for Clooney and Affleck for further comment.

Affleck has been open in the past about his battle with alcohol addiction after checking into rehab for the first time in 2001. Last year, Affleck told The New York Times that he started drinking more during marital problems with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

"I drank relatively normally for a long time," the 49-year-old actor told The New York Times. "What happened was that I started drinking more and more when my marriage was falling apart. This was 2015, 2016. My drinking, of course, created more marital problems."

In 2018, Affleck opened up about his recovery in a now-deleted Instagram post after spending 40 days in rehab.

"Battling any addiction is a lifelong and difficult struggle," the "Good Will Hunting" actor wrote. "Because of that, one is never really in or out of treatment. It is a full-time commitment.

"It helps to know I am not alone," he added. "As I've had to remind myself, if you have a problem, getting help is a sign of courage, not weakness or failure."

After his time in rehab in 2018, Affleck went on to star in "The Way Back," in which he portrayed a basketball coach with alcoholism. In an interview for The Hollywood Reporter's Actor Roundtable series earlier this year, Affleck said his personal experiences helped him to become a better actor.

"The Tender Bar" is in select theaters starting December 17 and on Amazon Prime starting January 6, 2022.