George Clooney Reveals Iconic Role Lost to Brad Pitt: Admits Avoiding the Film for Years

Brad Pitt once secured a role that George Clooney had been competing for. Despite both becoming highly successful and collaborating on the Ocean’s series of films, the sting of that loss still echoes with Clooney.

During an interaction with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan while promoting his latest movie Jay Kelly, Clooney opened up about his disappointment over not landing the role of J.D. in the iconic film Thelma & Louise. His reflections were captured in the following exchange:

ScreenRant: In the film, Jay regrets not putting his name on a movie. Is there a role you regret missing out on, or one that still haunts you as a “what if”?

George Clooney: There were a few films I really went for. It was between Brad Pitt and myself at one point, both of us were relatively unknown, for Thelma and Louise. When Brad got it, I was really annoyed! [Laughs] I couldn’t bring myself to watch the film for many years, and it ended up being a big break for him. I kept thinking, “That lucky guy…”

Eventually, I watched it and thought, “Obviously, he was the right choice.” There are a few opportunities that slipped by over the years, but they did for good reasons. Careers ebb and flow; things happen in their own time. You can’t dwell on the past, wondering, “Damn, I should have taken that opportunity.”

For a long time, Clooney harbored resentment towards Pitt, whose career took off spectacularly following the film, while Clooney continued to play smaller parts in TV series like Bodies of Evidence during much of the 1990s.

Years later, Clooney has come to terms with the past. After finally watching the film, he acknowledged that the casting decision was correct, as Pitt was ideally suited for the role. Since then, Clooney has stopped pondering the “what ifs” associated with Thelma & Louise.

Jay Kelly, a comedy-drama starring George Clooney and Sandler, directed by Noah Baumbach, is currently showing in select theaters.