George Clooney Mocks His Hair Color, Makes Crack About Pal Brad Pitt as He Receives Broadway Honor

George Clooney cracked a joke about his new hair color at the unveiling of his Sardi’s portrait in New York City on Thursday, April 24.

Sardi’s, an Italian restaurant famous for serving actors and theatergoers alike for the past century, hangs portraits of Broadway and film stars to commemorate their notable works in a time-honored tradition. At the unveiling of his portrait, Clooney, 63, couldn’t help but crack jokes about his recent hair color change for his Broadway debut, Good Night, and Good Luck.

“I like the hair color. It’s much better than my hair color right now,” Clooney said, as the portrait features his much more familiar, silver hair color. “That’s better. It’s grey, mostly grey. There we are, thank you so much.”

As Clooney signed his portrait before it was framed and displayed, he joked that he signed it “Brad Pitt.” Clooney is a longtime friend of Pitt’s, having starred in Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy, Burn After Reading and Wolfs together.

Wolfs followed Pitt and Clooney as fixers hired for the same job, leading them to butt heads. The film, directed by Jon Watts, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September before it hit streaming. At the premiere, Clooney joked to PEOPLE about collaborating with Pitt, 61.

“There’s nothing good about it. It’s all a disaster,” Clooney joked while signing autographs. He then took a serious turn, adding, “It’s fun to work with people you know really well.”

Clooney darkened his hair color for Good Night, and Good Luck, in which he plays the late journalist Edward R. Murrow. The actor co-wrote the script, which centers on Murrow’s coverage of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, with Grant Heslov. It is based on Clooney’s acclaimed 2005 film on the same subject.

Clooney was featured in the original film, playing producer Fred W. Friendly. David Strathairn, who played Murrow in the film, earned an Oscar nomination for the part in 2006.

“It seemed like a good time to remind ourselves how important journalism is to all of us and what a terrible state the country would be in without the Fourth Estate,” Clooney told Vulture. “Also, I think it’s a nice time to remind ourselves of us at our best—when we stood up to power and people did something very brave and unselfish.”

Tickets for Good Night, and Good Luck are now on sale. The play runs through June 8.