George Clooney and Brad Pitt are two of the biggest movie stars, but they were once just small fish in a big pond, hoping to make it big. Now they're friends and castmates, having starred in six of the same films, but Clooney still can't get over the F1 star beating him for the part in an iconic film.
Clooney found success as a working TV actor throughout the 80s, landing his first big role in Roseanne in 1988. Like most actors, he dreamt of the day he would book his first big movie. "I was making a good living, but back then actors would say, ‘Well, I’m a film actor — I just happen to be doing TV,'" he told The Times in a recent interview.
After going through the audition process, he made it to the final test for a role in Ridley Scott’s 1991 Thelma & Louise. As for who the person was who booked the part? In Clooney's hilarious words, "mother****er, Brad got it."
Thelma & Louise is one of the greatest films of all time, and it took some time for Clooney to get over it. The scene they were going head-to-head with was Pitt dancing shirtless in a hotel room. “I didn’t watch Thelma & Louise for years,” he said, admitting that he was "annoyed." "The part launched his career in film," the 75-year-old explained.
"He was doing sitcoms and crap before, so when it was the thing that could’ve launched me? F***!” Once he decided to watch the film, Clooney said, "Of course, when I saw it, I was, like, well, it had to be that guy.”
The Tickets to Paradise star said they still joke about it, saying Pitt, "he gives me shit."
Of course, they are now two of Hollywood's closest friends. Describing their friendship, Clooney told GQ in 2024, "It’s fun because we also check in on each other every once in a while, which is an important part of this. Things get complicated in life, and you always have to make sure everybody’s okay."
Pitt said he reaches out to Clooney when he's hit a road bump. "George is probably the best at understanding, seeing the chessboard and the potential moves," the 61-year-old told GQ in the same interview. "I’ll call George on numerous occasions when things get bumpy."
They first teamed up in Ocean’s Eleven in 2001, which turned into a full trilogy with Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen. Around that time, Clooney also directed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), where Pitt made a playful cameo.
They reunited again for the Coen Brothers’ dark comedy Burn After Reading (2008), and most recently shared the screen in the 2024 Wolfs, marking their big on-screen reunion after more than a decade.
Fans were excited to find out that they are teaming up again for Oceans Fourteen. It will reunite them with original cast members like Matt Damon and Julia Roberts. It's believed the film will start filming in 2026.