He is one of the world’s most famous film stars, but on this occasion George Clooney yielded centre stage to a Syrian refugee and her 11-year-old daughter.
Mr Clooney showed concern as he and wife Amal – a human rights lawyer – joined former Foreign Secretary David Miliband in Berlin to meet Mona and her daughter Joudi.
The high-profile couple and Mr Miliband – who is now president of humanitarian charity the International Rescue Committee – heard how the pair had fled their war-torn country, making a desperate trek to Germany, where they were welcomed.
Mr Clooney, who was also in the German capital to promote his new film Hail, Caesar!, said: ‘It was an honour to meet three Syrian families whose lives have been shattered by war and inspiring to learn that the people of Germany are helping them put their lives back together.’
At an earlier press conference, Mr Clooney – who is a vocal supporter of humanitarian causes – lost his usual calm demeanour and snapped at a reporter who questioned how much effort he was putting into refugee work.
A clearly irritated Mr Clooney said: ‘I spend a lot of time working on these things, and it’s an odd thing to have someone stand up and say, “What do you do?”
‘I have gone to places that are very dangerous and I work a lot on these things.’ He then demanded of the reporter: ‘I’d like to know what you are doing to help the situation?’
