George Clooney arrives on the red carpet for the 84th Annual Academy Awards on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. AFP PHOTO Joe KLAMAR (Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images) (JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)

(CBS SF) — George Clooney’s future job could be his toughest role yet. The Hollywood actor is launching his political career and running for governor of California, according to friends close to the star.

Clooney’s friends told the British tabloid newspaper the Daily Mirror that the 53-year-old movie star is currently being courted by the Democratic Party to run in 2018.

Clooney is notorious for supporting Democrats in the past having rallied for Obama at the 2012 election.

Friends say his recent engagement to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddun, 36, “has boosted his credentials even higher.”

The actor is also a well-known political activist and has personally funded his own drone spying missions to document human rights violations in Syria. In 2012, he was arrested for civil disobedience outside of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC after groups gathered to protest Sudan’s president for blocking aid and “provoking a humanitarian crisis.”

Clooney has not made an official statement, but friends close to him say he’s turned down several long-term acting projects to pursue his political goals.

When he was asked in 2012 about potentially running for president, he said, “There’s a guy in the office who is smarter than anybody,” referring to Obama. “I have no interest.”