Think of George Clooney and several things immediately spring to mind: that he's handsome, debonair, charismatic and a crusader for human rights. But what's lesser-known about Gorgeous George is that he's also Hollywood's most incorrigible prankster, a big kid in a fiftysomething's body. From Matt Damon and Brad Pitt to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, many an A-lister has fallen foul of Clooney's oh-so-hilarious gags.

Indeed, his Hail, Caesar! co-star Alden Ehrenreich once recalled how Clooney persuaded him, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Josh Brolin to all turn their backs on the cameras at the film's LA premiere. "So we did it and George didn't," said Ehrenreich. "There's a great picture of George laughing at the camera with Josh and us looking like idiots."

See what a riot he is. No matter that he's directed such political polemics as Good Night, and Good Luck, or starred in hard-hitting thrillers like Syriana, it seems that Clooney is never too self-important and sanctimonious for a good old-fashioned practical joke. Some have even been pretty funny. Here, then, are his best – or most annoying – ones.

Photographing his genitals – with other people’s cameras

Back in the Eighties, Clooney developed a proclivity for stealing friends' cameras and using it to take pictures of his nether-regions wearing glasses. "We called him Mr Face," he told Esquire. "You put sunglasses and a cigarette, and it actually looks like a person. I haven't done that in a long time. I think 1988 was my last Mr Face impersonation." Pop singer Pat Boone was among the victims.