George Clooney is one of Hollywood's most recognizable actors and directors in recent decades and this May 6 he turns 61, one of many reasons to celebrate his life, although just a year ago the 'Ocean's Eleven' franchise star's view of his time in life seemed somewhat fatalistic.

After celebrating his 60th birthday in 2021, Clooney dropped a line that many interpreted as a defeatist turning point for the actor, who said "turning 60 is a bummer. But it's that or dead."

Clooney's life was in jeopardy in 2018

However, it is important to understand that the two-time Oscar winner has indeed been on the brink of death, after suffering a terrible motorcycle accident in 2018 when he was hit by a car in Sardinia on the set of his Catch 22 series.

At the time, Clooney, lying on the ground as several people surrounded him and filmed him with their phones, thought it 'was the last minute of my life.' I was waiting for my switch to turn off. I'm fine now."

"If you're in the public eye, what you realise when you're on the ground thinking it's the last minute of your life is that, for some people, it's just going to be entertainment for their Facebook page," Clooney told The Sunday Times.

Clooney wants to see his children grow up

Boy, does Clooney have reason to keep enjoying his life, as he and his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, have two children, twins Ella and Alexander, who are about to turn five.

"I told Amal, 'Knock on wood, I'm healthy.' I'm still playing basketball with the younger gang. I'm feeling good. But in 20 years I'll be 80, and 80 is a real number," Clooney confessed to The Sunday Times.

"I said the next 20 years are halcyon and we have to celebrate that; we have to focus on the work we do is just what we have to do, what we feel in our chest, we have young kids.... I want to be able to live all this," the actor added.

They say age is a state of mind, and Clooney is already taking it with humor, even confessing to some jokes his own father has played on him.

"I always tell my dad, 'I'm middle-aged.' ' And he says, 'Do you know many 120-year-olds? Turning 70 will be more like a shot in the throat?' I'm telling you, 70 is going to screw me up," Clooney told AARP last year.