George Clooney Refused to Watch ‘Thelma & Louise’ For ‘Years’ Because of Brad Pitt
George Clooney is a massive star now. He’s had an illustrious career spanning decades and across multiple platforms. He has starred in sitcoms and movies and has won awards for both. Still, finding that breakout moment wasn’t exactly easy. Recently, George Clooney revealed that he held a bit of a grudge against Brad Pitt for years, refusing to watch his breakout movie, Thelma and Louise, because he almost booked the part himself.
George Clooney admits he was bitter over ‘Thelma & Louise’ for years
George Clooney and Brad Pitt have been good friends for many years. They’ve starred in movies together and have nothing but nice things to say about each other. Still, there was some rivalry early in their careers. George Clooney recently revealed he refused to watch Thelma & Louise because of Brad Pitt. In a conversation with The Sunday Times, the Oscar-winning actor revealed that he refused to watch the classic 1990s flick for many years because he lost the role of J.D., a drifter, to Brad Pitt.
Clooney explained that he auditioned several times for the role and was very far along in the process. At the last minute, though, the role ultimately went to Brad Pitt. He said when the part catapulted Pitt into stardom, he was “annoyed.”
Clooney might have been right to be a little bitter, at least at first. He was very much in he running for the role, and the only thing that stood in the way of him landing it over Pitt was Pitt’s chemistry with Geena Davis. Still, the movie wasn’t supposed to go to either one of them at first. According to Business Insider, the part was initially given to Billy Baldwin, but he opted to walk away from the movie.
Billy Baldwin’s decision was fortuitous for Pitt. The movie catapulted Brad Pitt into superstardom seemingly overnight and changed everything for him. Would it have worked out the same way for Clooney? It’s impossible to say, but we do know it worked out for both actors. They have enjoyed enormous success in their individual careers and as co-stars.
What was George Clooney’s breakout role?
George Clooney was a reasonably successful working actor before he became a star. While he appeared in shows like Roseanne and The Facts of Life in the 1980s and early 1990s, his true breakout role did not come until 1994. In 1994, he was cast as Dr. Doug Ross in ER, which made him an overnight sensation. He earned Emmy nominations and wins for the role, and became one of the most popular actors in Hollywood pretty quickly.
In 1996, he took his newfound stardom to the big screen. While he appeared in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes in 1988, his breakout film role is generally considered to be From Dusk Till Dawn. The 1996 crime thriller allowed Clooney to shed his TV doctor image and take on a more dynamic and much more complex role. In the Quentin Tarantino-written flick, Clooney plays a charasmatic bank robber who is trying to make it to Mexico no matter the costs. He has since acted in dozens of more projects. Pitt has done the same.
