Using fake names, tinted windows and the occasional disguise are among them.
But Tinseltown's George Clooney jokes he has devised a cunning ruse - he invites close pals Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their kids round to his villa in Laglio, Italy.
They get all the attention and he can sneak off for some peace.
In an exclusive interview, Clooney says: "It's much easier for me to hang out with friends at a restaurant in Laglio or a lot of other small villages and towns without 50 photographers showing up in half an hour.
"My life over there takes me away from the circus aspects of being a celebrity and that's a pleasant change for me.
"But unfortunately Laglio is turning into a bit of a tourist mecca now and so I have to be a little more careful whenever I'm there - either that, or I should just stand at the entrance to the village handing out tourist brochures.
"I don't really worry about that though."
"Then I can sneak away to the other side of the lake by boat and do whatever I want."
Brad and George have been pals for years, having worked together on the three Ocean's films - which kicked off in 2001 with Ocean's Eleven - and 2008 flick Burn After Reading.
Handily Clooney's next movie, The American, is largely set in Italy, so he hasn't had to stray far from his adopted country.
It follows on from the Oscar-nominated hit Up In The Air - featuring Clooney as an executive who flies around firing staff at downsizing firms - which opened in January to rave reviews.
The actor is making slightly fewer films than before as he is enjoying a more relaxed life in Europe.
And he admits his work ethic has damaged his personal life in the past. George has not settled down again since his 1993 divorce from actress Talia Balsam, 51, although he has been dating beautiful Italian TV presenter Elisabetta Canalis for more than a year.
He said: "I was working so hard on my film projects that for a time I basically didn't even think very much about how my personal life was evolving.
"I didn't care, in the sense that I didn't have a family or children to look after and that I wasn't involved in any long-term relationships.
"What changed my life in a very pleasant and unexpected way was buying the villa in Laglio. That was a pure investment decision - I thought maybe I would spend a few weeks vacationing there.
"But then I realised how beautiful life was in Italy and how it really helped calm me and not feel so pressured.
"I could also work very productively and bring my friends over to keep me company."
On the surface, George is the star with everything.
The silver-haired heart-throb has an Oscar, the pick of the best film roles, a stunning Italian girlfriend and the villa on Lake Como.
But one trauma continues to nag at the actor - the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan in Africa.
Four years ago Clooney and his journalist dad Nick smuggled cameras into the Darfur refugee camps to show the terrible impact of a civil war that is estimated to have killed more than 300,000.
No end is in sight to the bloody conflict despite Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir being charged by the International Criminal Court for allegedly orchestrating the genocide.
George says: "I've been honoured to be able to lend my celebrity to help wherever I can, especially on behalf of the United Nations.
"But in the case of Darfur it's been the greatest failure of my life.
"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."
On Sunday, the 49-year-old picked up a humanitarian award for his good work, which has also included helping the victims of January's earthquake in Haiti and of Hurricane Katrina which struck New Orleans in 2005.
He reckons he inherited this desire to speak out on important issues from his 76-year-old father.
George said: "My dad believed there's a right way to live and a right way to run a government.
"So he has never shied away from speaking his mind on certain issues and being politically outspoken even if that cost him his job or made his life difficult.
"So I grew up appreciating the meaning of the notion of integrity and I owe that to my father."
His new film, The American, sees Clooney as an assassin preparing for his last job. Opening on November 26, it is directed by Anton Corbijn, who made the Joy Division singer Ian Curtis biopic, Control.
It is another medium-budget production for Clooney who admits he has deliberately avoided making blockbusters since the 1997 flop Batman & Robin.
He said: "There was so much hype around my being Batman and then I nearly killed the franchise and my career along with it.
"I also didn't want to do a lot of easy romantic comedies. I wanted to make films like Three Kings and Out Of Sight because those kinds of films are trying to push the envelope and have a chance to leave some kind of mark."
Clooney ensures he keeps work and pleasure separate. He said: "You have to be willing to work hard to create your own sense of freedom and that's where the real art of living comes in.
"I probably have as much fun as anyone but I'm extremely disciplined when it comes to dividing my time between work and play.
"I don't even drink as much as I used to because I just can't stand wasting the next day recovering from a hangover any more."
While he considers hard work a major reason for his success since quitting TV series ER to make it big in Hollywood, he also realises luck has played a role. And he says stars shouldn't be fooled into thinking they are creative geniuses.
George said: "I grew up around famous people. In the world I grew up in - Cincinnati, Ohio - my father was a big star as a TV news anchorman and my Aunt Rosemary was one of the most popular singers in America.
"But I learnt from how her career sank in the Sixties. I saw how little it has to do with you. It's all about luck.
"The problem with famous people in general is that they actually think they're geniuses.
"You get famous and you think, 'Yes, of course I should be famous and I've earned it all'. You haven't, though. You got lucky. I got lucky."
He continues to hold out for more good fortune, believing his best work is in front of him.
He smiled: "I still feel I haven't done my best work although I've at least put myself in the position where I can keep doing what I love and enjoy the process.
"That, for me, is what it's all about. I've had a pretty good plan which I've been following for the last ten years or so in terms of becoming a director, developing my own projects and taking my work to the next level.
"I even have a bit of a personal life these days."
Laughing, he added: "I don't want to make anyone sick, but things are going pretty well for me."
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