George Clooney bonded with U.S. President Barack Obama over their shared concern about the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Sudan.
The Hollywood actor has long been involved in raising awareness about the troubled African region and providing aid to the victims of the civil war, and it was a topic of interest which also caught the eye of Obama, years before he ran for office in 2008.
The pair has worked together on numerous occasions ever since and Obama admits the Ocean's Eleven star has become a "good friend".
He tells U.S. news show Entertainment Tonight, "The truth is we got to know each other because of a substantive issue. He is a terrific advocate on behalf of the people of Darfur, and to the people of Sudan who've been brutalised for a long time. And so when I was a senator - this was well before I was president - that was an issue that I was working together on a bipartisan basis, and George, who had travelled there, done documentaries there, and was very well-informed, came to testify in Congress. And so we got to know each other, and he is a good man, and a good friend."
And Clooney has been careful not to overstep the mark - because he doesn't want the Democrat to face unnecessary criticism over his high-profile friendships.
Obama adds: "He's very protective about not bothering me. And he's also sensitive to the fact that, you know, that if he's around a lot, then somehow it'll be tagged as 'Obama hanging out with Hollywood stars,' and that's not who he is. But he's a good person."
The actor has also been lending a hand in Obama's re-election campaign, and recently hosted a fundraiser in Geneva, Switzerland for the President as he seeks to win a second term in office.