Known for their charming personalities and a series of hit movies, George Clooney and Brad Pitt have often found themselves competing for the same role. And something similar happened during the auditions of Ridley Scott’s 1991 film Thelma & Louise.
The role in the movie eventually went to the Bullet Train star and helped bring him into the limelight. Despite George Clooney’s subsequent acclaim, he admitted that losing the role to Pitt had a profound impact on him as he couldn’t bring himself to watch Thelma & Louise for years.
George Clooney Lost a Major Role to Brad Pitt
Ridley Scott’s 1991 film Thelma & Louise follows two friends, Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer, on a road trip that soon turns into a crime spree. The movie was a critical and commercial hit and even went on to earn six Oscar nominations at the 64th Academy Award.
Brad Pitt portrayed J.D. in the movie, a role both he and George Clooney auditioned for. While the Fight Clun star rose to fame and success with his role in the 1991 road trip drama, Clooney was still “stuck doing a lot of bad TV at that time.”
During a conversation at the Telluride Festival, the Ocean’s Eleven star reflected on the same, as he shared that after failing to land the role, he couldn’t even watch the movie for years. “And I just couldn’t watch that movie for a couple of years,” he shared during the interview, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
However, he admitted that the Troy star was “the right choice” for the role when he eventually saw the film. “He was really good in it, and I would have fu*ked it up somehow,” he shared, praising his fellow actor and longtime friend Brad Pitt.
Geena Davis Revealed Why Brad Pitt Got the Part
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Thelma & Louise actress Geena Davis shared insight into how Brad Pitt eventually beat George Clooney to get the role in the 1991 movie. She shared that the makers finalized five actors for the role and asked her to screen test with them.
The actress said that although all the actors were very handsome and talented, it was Pitt who caught her eye. Davis stated that she was awestruck by the actor, saying, “He is so charismatic and so incredibly talented that I was like screwing up his audition.”
The Beetlejuice actress shared that she suggested Pitt’s name for the role of J.D. Davis also shared the other actors who did screen tests with her, which included Grant Show, Mark Ruffalo, and George Clooney, who also told her on a flight that he hated his Ocean’s Eleven co-star as he lost the role to him. However, Davis did not recall reading with him for the 1991 movie.
Thelma & Louise is available to rent or buy on PrimeVideo.
