I guess you'd want a young guy for this sort of role, but I can't think of anyone like Clooney nowadays.
The way he just sort of automatically exudes gravitas makes him surprisingly effective in comedy I think. Because comedy requires surprises, and even when he's playing a goofy character it is still somehow surprising when he does something silly.
Based on his performance in The Nice Guys, Ryan Gosling is my first impulse to approximate young Clooney, but I might very easily be a cinema philistine.
The way he just sort of automatically exudes gravitas makes him surprisingly effective in comedy I think. Because comedy requires surprises, and even when he's playing a goofy character it is still somehow surprising when he does something silly.