United Kingdom, Dec. 29 -- George Clooney was shocked to see his 1980s mullet make a surprise cameo appearance in his new movie Jay Kelly.

The former E.R. star - who plays an ageing Hollywood actor in the new Netflix film - has revealed director Noah Baumbach didn't tell him he would be using real clips from Clooney's career in a montage featured on screen when the title character is given a life achievement award.

Clooney addressed the mullet during Entertainment Weekly's Around the Table with his Jay Kelly co-star Adam Sandler, saying: "Oh, it was a surprise all right. I was surprised ...

"We [Sandler and I] held hands. No, I didn't know he was going to use sort of clips from my own actual career, which was a surprise.

"And you get ...