George Clooney has spoken out about his problems gaining weight for his new film role.

The Ocean's Eleven star had to put on 30 pounds in only a month to fill in for an actor who dropped out of new film Syiana, according to BBC News Online.

Clooney, who lives by Lake Como in Italy, said that it was "one of the most miserable times of his life."

He added that he was forced to eat nine meals a day in order to put on the weight, describing the task as being akin to "going to a pie-eating contest every day."