George Clooney Jokes About His New Beard: It Makes Me Look "Old"

USMagazine, Monday, February 25, 2013, 4:00pm (PST)

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. George Clooney took a jab at himself on the Oscars red carpet on Sunday, Feb. 24, quipping that recently growing out his facial hair has made him look and feel a little older. 

"I was surprised how old I looked when I grew it," the 51-year-old actor told Us Weekly of the salt-and-pepper scruff that he's grown out for an upcoming role in his new film Monuments Men.

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The good-natured Hollywood star admitted that being older in Hollywood does come with some perks, however.

"It's easy! Sometimes you wear holes in them so you have to get a new one but it's basically the same thing," he told Us of recycling his Giorgio Armani tux throughout the awards season. "I am 51 years old. You don't want to get all crazy with your tuxes. Just get something nice and standard."

Clooney's girlfriend Stacy Keibler, who stunned in a slinky Naeem Khan dress, added that it didn't take much for the veteran actor to look "dapper" anyway.

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"I mean, he literally walked by me sweaty and in five minutes walked by the other way in a tux and looked dapper!" she told Us, revealing that the couple had been playing basketball until just 45 minutes before leaving for the ceremony. "He always looks good and he is always pretty consistent."

Keibler's look, however, took a little bit of discussion.

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"He was in Berlin so I was emailing him photos of different things off the runway," the 33-year-old Supermarket Superstars host explained. "I was like, what do you think of this one or that one? He always gives his opinion. George just loves things that are classy and elegant."

"I sewed most of the sequins on myself," Clooney joked of her gown. Keibler topped off her look with Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, Lorraine Schwartz jewels, and a Tiffany & Co purse.

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: George Clooney Jokes About His New Beard: It Makes Me Look "Old"