Reports that he considered self-harm after being hurt filming Syriana were taken "out of context", Clooney said in a statement to the BBC News website. "I certainly did not talk about wanting to kill myself," he said. The reports had quoted him as saying he felt so low after he injured his spine and head that he thought he would "have to" take his own life. Clooney had been hurt after accidentally falling to the floor while tied to a chair for a scene in the movie. The reports stated that Clooney had said in a US radio interview that he found the pain "unbearable" and was considering self-harm before a series of operations eased the problem. The Ocean's Twelve star told the BBC: "I was talking about living a long time in that sort of pain."

Political drama: Clooney, 44, is currently promoting his second film as a director, Good Night, and Good Luck, in which he also co-stars. The film won two awards at the Venice Film Festival last month. It focuses on a period in the 1950s which saw US broadcaster Edward R Murrow confront the actions of Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy Forthcoming political thriller Syriana is written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, who won a best screenplay Oscar for Traffic. Clooney stars as a CIA agent working in the Middle East who is caught up in murky dealings in the oil industry.