Inside Shailene Woodley's Relationship With George Clooney

Before Shailene Woodley skyrocketed to fame by landing a role starring alongside George Clooney in "The Descendants," she was doing something that the "Burn After Reading" actor could never get away with: taking a break from acting by working at a clothing store.

At the time, Woodley was best known for playing a teen who gets pregnant on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." While she wasn't exactly a global superstar like Clooney, sometimes the customers at the New York American Apparel, where she got hired in 2009, did think that she looked familiar. "If someone recognized me, I would just say, 'Oh no, I get that a lot,'" Woodley told Interview magazine. She was still learning the ropes at her retail gig when her agent informed her that filmmaker Alexander Payne wanted to meet with her, per The Guardian. Woodley ended up heading to Hawaii to work with Payne and Clooney for a few months instead of continuing to refold V-neck T-shirts.

Woodley told TheWrap she had no idea who Payne was at first because she's the type of gal who would rather scamper up a tree than watch highly-regarded films in hopes of learning something that could benefit her career. However, Woodley's work with the director would generate awards buzz — and introduce her to Clooney, someone who has had a positive influence on her life.

In "The Descendants," Shailene Woodley played the willful teenage daughter of George Clooney's character, and Clooney greeted her like family. "I was a bit nervous the first time meeting him until he came up to me and gave me a giant hug and said, 'Welcome, sweetie,'" Woodley recalled to Digital Spy. In interviews, Woodley has constantly marveled over how down-to-earth and caring Clooney is, telling TeenVogue that Clooney whipped up sandwiches to serve to the cast and crew. "On the set, if someone was doing a hard time, he was the first to offer assistance. He's just the most generous person I've ever encountered in my life," she gushed to IndieWire.

While Woodley said that she didn't get to witness any of Clooney's famously epic pranks, she revealed that he did occasionally use a fart app on his phone to get laughs on set. He was such a joy to be around that she kept in touch with him after their working relationship ended. On "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Woodley said she even contacted Clooney while she was backpacking in Italy with a friend. They'd been staying at a hostel, and Clooney offered a major upgrade: a free stay at his residence there. He even sent his Lincoln Town Car to pick them up. "We hadn't showered in maybe five days. We stunk," Woodley recalled, adding that she was so grateful that Clooney didn't mention their malodor.

Speaking to C magazine, Shailene Woodley said of George Clooney, "He's like a father figure for me. I feel that with him, I will always have an ally, someone I can trust and call upon in a time of great need." But as Woodley revealed to the Independent, there have been times that she's lived without a phone, which means she would have to wait a long time to hear back from George using her preferred method of communication.

In an interview with Vulture, Woodley expressed her fondness for penning handwritten letters to people, saying it's something she does daily. She has this in common with George, who told "CBS Mornings" host Gayle King that he wrote letters to Amal Clooney when he was trying to woo her. According to Amal, he sometimes pretended that they were from his dog. George also became pen pals with Woodley. "We write each other, and I really do consider her like my eldest daughter," he told GQ. "She is someone I dearly love."

Woodley told The Orange County Register that George has given her some invaluable fatherly advice, like telling her to take the lead role in the "Divergent" movies. And if she ever wants to become a big sister to George and Amal's twins, that role might still be available. "I want to adopt Shailene," George once joked to The Insider. "I figure she has a big career ahead and can support me."