George Clooney’s career took off after his breakthrough appearance as Dr. Doug Ross on the popular television series ER and hasn’t failed since. Clooney has developed into a master of his trade, whether he is in front of or behind the camera. The actor is known for playing legendary roles in some of the greatest motion pictures in Hollywood history. Although the megastar has an excellent résumé, he has also undoubtedly missed out on a lot of opportunities.
One particularly difficult rejection was part of seductive hitchhiker J.D in the 1991 female-buddy comedy Thelma & Louise, for which the renowned actor appeared in auditions an incredible five times but was still passed over in favor of Brad Pitt. It seems the rejection hit Clooney pretty hard because he is still not over it.
George Clooney admits he’s still mad at Brad Pitt
Thelma and Louise is a film that gave Brad Pitt his big break. Long before ER, it very well could have assisted in launching Clooney’s career as well. Surely enough, Clooney fought hard and gave five auditions for the role of J.D., but was still passed over for the part that was ultimately played by Pitt. For many years, this decision bothered Clooney. Geena Davis, who played Thelma in the 1991 movie, subsequently recalled that she had forgotten that Clooney had ever tried out for the part because Pitt’s audition was so outstanding.
In 2015, Davis revealed to Access Hollywood that she was on a plane next to George Clooney a couple of years ago when Clooney claimed he was “still mad at Brad Pitt“. When asked why would he say something like that about his close friend, Clooney told her its because he got the part in Thelma & Louise. The actress then admitted she had almost forgotten Clooney had read lines with her for the movie.
How did George Clooney manage to lose the role of J.D. to Brad Pitt?
Given his unquestionable acting talent, George Clooney is unlikely to be passed over for a part. Then how did the two-time Academy Award winner manage to give five incredibly forgettable auditions? It turns out that Brad Pitt’s stunning beauty and superb charisma were what tipped the scales in his favor. Geena Davis, who performed chemistry reads with each of the five candidates for the part, said that Pitt’s stunning good looks and charisma caused her to stumble through her lines.
During her 2022 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Davis revealed,
“Each of them were 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.”
Surely enough, Pitt did do an absolutely outstanding job of portraying the infamous convict robber. Susan Sarandon, who played the movie’s main heroine, Thelma, gave the famed actor plenty of praise for his work.
Source: The Things
