George Clooney Says Darfur Involvement 'Greatest Failure of My Life'

George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis. (Reuters)

George Clooney is promoting his new film "The American," about a hired killer hiding out in Italy as he prepares for his last job.

The "hiding out in Italy" part mirrors his personal life, as Clooney spends much of his down time in a luxe villa in the small town of Laglio with Italian girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis.

But Clooney, 49, told The Sun newspaper that apart from his charmed life, one world event with which he has become intimately involved -- the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan -- remains a personal albatross.

"I've been honored to be able to lend my celebrity to help wherever I can, especially on behalf of the United Nations," he said in a wide-ranging interview. "But in the case of Darfur it's been the greatest failure of my life."

Clooney and his journalist father Nick smuggled cameras into the Darfur refugee camps four years ago to show the impact of the civil war that is estimated to have killed more than 300,000.

Since the, Clooney said little has changed.

"With other people, we've been able to get a lot of attention focused on the terrible situation there and nothing has changed. It's very frustrating."

Cloney received a humanitarian award at the Emmy Awards last Sunday for his work, on behalf of the earthquake victims in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina victims on the Gulf coast.

"It's embarrassing,” he told FOX411.com backstage. “You don't want to be awarded for doing what you're supposed to be doing."