George Clooney is looking back at the moment he missed out on the role that helped launch Brad Pitt into movie stardom, the part of J.D. in 1991’s Thelma & Louise.
Speaking to The Times of London, Clooney said he made it all the way to the final audition before the role slipped away.
“I got to the final test for a role in Thelma & Louise. And, mother****er, Brad got it,” he recalled.
At the time, Clooney was mainly working in television and believed that role could have changed everything for him.
He revealed he avoided watching the film for years because losing out was frustrating.
“The part launched his career in film. He was doing sitcoms and crap before, so when it was the thing that could’ve launched me? F***!” he said.
Brad Pitt ultimately won the part and delivered a breakout performance as the charming drifter who crosses paths with Geena Davis’ character.
Clooney later admitted that once he finally watched the film, he knew the casting was right. “But, of course, when I saw it, I was, like, well it had to be that guy,” he said.
Even Clooney’s friends have reminded him of the moment. Adam Sandler joked that when Pitt took his shirt off on screen, the audience reaction made it obvious who belonged in the role.
Geena Davis shared in a past interview that multiple actors were competing for the character of J.D., and she remembered reading scenes with the finalists.
Pitt was the last to audition, and his presence stood out immediately.
Davis said she even stumbled over her lines while reading with him because of how impressed she was. Once she was asked her opinion, she simply referred to him as “the blonde one,” and the choice was clear.
Although the role went to Pitt, both actors went on to succeed in Hollywood and have remained friends over the years.
And while Thelma & Louise gave Pitt his breakthrough moment, Clooney’s career eventually took off in its own time, something he now looks back on with humour rather than regret.
