George Clooney projects confidence. On screen, he has played the compassionate pediatrician Doug Ross (ER), the suave conman Danny Ocean (Ocean’s Eleven), and the charming hero in many other films. In interviews, Clooney comes across as surprisingly down-to-earth, a good father, and deeply invested in his relationship with his wife, Amal (née Alamuddin), a prominent human rights attorney and activist.

However, in one recent interview with The Atlantic, Clooney opened up about feeling inadequate when comparing himself to his wife. Though he may be a charismatic and well-respected actor and director, he began to feel as though she would eventually grow tired of his charm and recognize his shortcomings. The feeling nagged at him and began to eat away at his confidence. He eventually found himself reading international law journals at night and listening to lectures from Oxford University to become more of an active participant in conversations with her associates and friends. He wanted to show her that he could match her intellect and ability to analyze the nuances of international politics.

His admission during the interview took a lot of readers by surprise, including his wife. She had no idea that he felt inadequate. As she told him over the phone after reading the article, she felt the same way, just for different reasons. For Amal, her worry was that she would never be able to match her husband’s affability, wit, and ability to put people at........

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