VENICE: Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney on Friday showed irritation with a reporter’s question how he could reconcile criticising multinationals with appearing in high-profile ads for Nestle.

Clooney was at the ongoing Venice film festival to present his latest film, the thriller “Michael Clayton,” in which he plays a “fixer” for an enormous New York law firm.

Tasked with sorting out embarrassments behind the scenes for its mega clients, Clooney’s character finds himself in a moral dilemma — and in mortal danger — while trying to help the firm protect a client with a toxic product.

Asked at a Venice news conference about ads for Nespresso, a coffee brand by multinational Nestle, in which he stars, Clooney said he did not work for Nestle, he just did the Nespresso ads.

“I’m not going to apologise to you for trying to make a living every once in a while. I find that an irritating question,” Clooney said unsmilingly.

Nestle is a multinational food company based in Switzerland. The company has been criticised in the past for its manner of marketing formula baby milk in developing countries. The controversy led to a boycott of its products in the late 1970s.—AFP