George Clooney 'Still Mad' at Brad Pitt Who Took His Most-Desired Role from Him 5 (!) Times
When you're as famous and successful as George Clooney, you just can't be passed over…
Unless you're up against Brad Pitt — then, it can happen five times in a row.
George Clooney is one of the brightest superstars in the night sky, and he's been that for one too many years now.
Brad Pitt is an actor of the same scale, as of now; when this story took place, though, he was but an aspiring amateur actor… Who managed to pass over George Clooney at five consequent auditions!
The part of J.D. in 1991's Thelma & Louise caught the attention of both Clooney and Pitt. One of them was a newbie in the movie industry, and the other one was a titan; still, they both came to audition for the role.
For young Brad, it was a chance for a huge career head-start, and for George, it was yet another great part for his resume.
Despite Clooney's superstar status, he stood no chance against Pitt. In fact, he lost the audition to his younger counterpart not one, not two, but five times!
George Clooney had his eyes set on the prize, so after each rejection, he kept coming back for another try — and each time, Brad Pitt was already there, killing it.
In 2022, Geena Davis, who was responsible for chemistry reads during the auditions, revealed how the young actor managed to overshadow the superstar back then.
"Each of [the actors] was very handsome. They all had brown hair and were very talented. I didn't care who it was going to be. Then the fourth one comes in, and it's Brad Pitt. He's so charismatic and so incredibly talented that I was screwing up his audition," admitted Geena.
According to Ms. Davis, Pitt was so good he was even making her nervous — and his performance was too brilliant for even George Clooney to have a chance there.
Clooney also told her he still wasn't over the fact that Brad took the role from him… And Davis had to admit that she'd forgotten Clooney was even there at all.
Fortunately, the story ended without a decades-long rivalry like it sometimes happens between other actors. In fact, Brad Pitt and George Clooney are great friends, and they only remember this story for laughs these days.
Source: TheThings