While Norway swept the Olympic Winter Games at Milano Cortina and the US broke the Internet with Alysa Liu, the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games made its mark with a first-ever winter OMEGA House.

Beneath the glass dome and intricate ironwork of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the OMEGA House resided inside Ristorante Cracco, operated by OMEGA Friend of the Brand and celebrated Italian chef Carlo Cracco.

Step through the threshold, and you'll see the ground floor café that's transformed into the “OMEGA Café by Cracco”. Ascend the stairs, and you'll come to a retreat of sorts, where members can chill at the lounge during the day, sup at the restaurant, or watch the games live on the TV screens.

On the first day of the Olympic Winter Games, the OMEGA House held an Opening Gala that was attended by a constellation of the brand's friends and ambassadors. Notable personalities like Marisa Tomei and Olympic champion Allyson Felix were present. As were Park Bo-gum and George Clooney. It is with the latter that we pay close attention.

For Clooney, who has been OMEGA's ambassador since 2007, the evening carried a personal resonance for him—when he was a child, Clooney first spotted the Speedmaster watches on the wrists of NASA astronauts. Esquire spoke to Clooney in an exclusive interview, where he talks about sports, The Boys in the Boat, and the standout OMEGA model in his collection.

ESQUIRE SINGAPORE: Do you know Milano well? What’s your favourite thing about this host city and the entire region?

GEORGE CLOONEY: Milan is fantastic. I come in here all the time. It’s just a 45-minute drive from Como, where we’ve had a home for about 25 years. We're usually here in the summer when this place empties out because it's so hot. But I’m finding it wonderful to be here at this time of year, because it feels so alive and awake.

Milan's a really fun city. It's actually not just about fashion. It's a big industrial city, and once you get inside, and you go out around the Duomo, you find really beautiful restaurants. In fact, northern Italy has always been my favourite part of Italy. Particularly Piedmont. The food is spectacular.

ESQ: We know you’re a sports fan. But have you ever been drawn to any winter sports, either as a spectator or participant?

GC: I was a jock when I was younger and played a lot of sports. I still play a lot of sports like basketball and tennis. In fact, I wanted to be a professional baseball player, and I got a couple of try-outs for the Cincinnati Reds.

I've not participated so much in winter sports, but I go through waves of things I love watching. It’s always fun to watch any of the downhill racing. Watching those athletes go down at that rate of speed is just insanity. And we all got into ice skating in the 90s. I find skating a little like gymnastics, in the sense that it's all or nothing. If you fall, it's over. There’s so much risk. You're watching people risk everything they've been training for their whole lives. They've done it 99 times out of 100, but when they fall, it's just heartbreaking.

ESQ: Knowing OMEGA as you do, what do you think makes this brand the best choice to be an Official Timekeeper?

GC: OMEGA went to the moon. If you watch what happened on those Apollo flights, you think about the accuracy that was required. Without question, when people's lives were up for grabs, you already know it's a really good quality product. There’s also the tradition to it. OMEGA has been at the Olympics since 1932, and we’ve always seen that name, so the name alone has become something special.

ESQ: And it’s a special name within your family, too?

GC: My father had an OMEGA watch. When I started working for OMEGA about 25 years ago, he went up into the attic and found his old OMEGA watch, wound it up and gave it to me. It worked perfectly, and it was so beautiful. So, it's a tradition in my family personally.

Generally, I am so proud to represent OMEGA. I’m proud to be a part of the company. It’s not something I take lightly, and I only have a couple of these kinds of partnerships. To be involved with the company for such a long period of time, it’s an honour for me.

ESQ: You’ve actually directed a film about Olympic Games rowing. The Boys in the Boat. The story took place in 1936 when OMEGA was timing. How did you find that experience?

GC: When we were shooting The Boys in the Boat, we realised it's very hard to make rowing look exciting, because you can't get close. You're back so far away from the boats, and the oars are so long, you can't get in tight. Now with drones and stuff, you can make it look a little more exciting.

But I also understood how different timekeeping was. Back then, OMEGA was using the stopwatch, and it was timed to the nearest second. That was the measurement. Now, they have timers that can split time by one millionth of a second.

ESQ: Why do you think sport is such a compelling source for storytelling and filmmaking?

GC: The interesting thing about sports films is that we know how it ends before it starts. With The Boys in the Boat, we knew that the Americans won that race against Germany. We knew it. But what's so compelling is that you're still willing to take that journey, because you want the ride. That's what sports films do in a beautiful way. We love the underdog winning. Whether it’s Miracle, Hoosiers, Rudy, or any of those great stories, I just love sports films.

ESQ: And finally, which OMEGA watch is the champion amongst your collection?

GC: I like the Speedmaster, it's just such a classic. I’ve used those probably the most. Not only the Moonwatch, but also the Dark Side of the Moon, which is absolutely stunning.

I’m also really into the new Aqua Terra in turquoise. Watch people go through phases of what they like, and right now, people seem to be really digging green dials, but I do love the turquoise Aqua Terra, and also the terracotta one I’ve been wearing.

I just really like the watches in steel. I have a platinum wedding ring, so steel kind of looks better. I think they’re just elegant.