Fan Fare

George Clooney and Ryan Gosling at TIFF

Politics may make for good films, but don’t expect the stars of “The Ides of March” to run for office any time soon.

George Clooney, who directs and stars as governor Mike Morris in the political drama, has already said he isn’t interested in a real-life political career.

As for Ryan Gosling, who plays the central role of press attache Stephen Myers in the film about the U.S. Democratic primary race, when asked at the TIFF press conference on Friday if he would ever consider throwing his hat in the political ring, his answer was a blunt “No”.

Not even a little joke.

This from the man who earlier compared Clooney’s directing style to watching the birth of a unicorn. Perhaps working on a film about the dirty side of politics has made a cynic of the Canadian actor.

In “The Ides of March,” Gosling’s character becomes embroiled in a high-stakes game of sex and power in a critical look at the reality behind political rhetoric. Clooney said the film is not meant to be a commentary on the state of politics in the United States, but rather a look at human morality.

As for whether the morally ambivalent characters who dot the film could exist in the political sphere north of the border, Gosling said Canadians are just “too nice.”

Co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays Myers’ boss in the film, isn’t so convinced.

“It’s probably just as dirty up here as anywhere else,” he joked to hearty laughter from the Canadian and foreign press. “You’re filthy corrupt. I think it’s time to blow the lid off Canadian politics.”