George Clooney has paid tribute to Aussie starlet Cate Blanchett during the virtual G’Day USA American Australian Association Arts Gala which was held on Friday.
Blanchett is a critically acclaimed actress who has won two Oscars and three Golden Globes, along with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award was introduced by Clooney who kicked off the segment by joking: “Hi, I’m Brad Pitt. I know I don’t look so good. After I won the Oscar I just said, ‘To hell with it!’ I stopped taking care of myself.”
He then went on to praise Blanchett.
“I’ve been asked to say a few words about Cate who is winning a Lifetime Achievement award,” he said.
“I have to tell you what an honour it is to talk about someone of her calibre.
“I’ve worked with her as a director, I’ve worked with her as an actor, and when I say calibre I’m not just talking about her obvious talent as an actress,” Clooney went on to say.
“She’s easily the best actress of her generation. She is a consummate professional. She solves problem on a set all the time.
“And more than that, is how she solves problems in the rest of the world. It’s what she does in trying to bring justice and hope to all the people who don’t have justice and don’t have hope.”
Orange Is The New Black star Uzo Aduba and American Horror Story star Sarah Paulson also honoured Blanchett in the segment, saying: “There’s not a single time that I’ve worked with Cate where I haven’t had the eye-opening experience of watching real magic happen.”
When accepting the award, Blanchett thanked “all the trailblazers who paved the way for actors like myself”.
“Australia is such an extraordinary country with a plethora of talent both in front and behind the camera and I do hope that as the cultural connection between Australia and America enters yet another exciting chapter, that we do find genuine and concrete ways to honour and to value the contribution of crews, creatives and casts on the ground in Australia,” Blanchett said.
“My career would not be anything without the extraordinary connection between these countries, so thank you.”
The Arts Gala was hosted by David Campbell and featured performances from Guy Sebastian, Delta Goodrem, Chris Sebastian, Dami Im and Johnny Manuel.
This article originally appeared on Over60.