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George Clooney confirmed “some very famous people,” including Mark Wahlberg and Johnny Depp, turned down the chance to star in the 2001 hit “Ocean’s Eleven”.
Clooney was joined by the likes of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Julia Roberts in the star-studded flick. However, during an interview at the 2023 TCM Film Festival, Clooney admitted some said “no” to the film.
The actor insisted a lot of people wanted to work with director Steven Soderbergh at the time.
He recalled, “Steven had just done ‘Erin Brockovich’ and ‘Traffic’, and he was nominated for [an Oscar for] directing both films.
“So, people really wanted to work with Steven.”
— Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TCM
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“Some said no to us,” Soderbergh admitted, as Clooney added: “They did. Some very famous people told us to f**k right off.”
As the interviewer commented on Mark Wahlberg turning it down, Clooney went on, “Johnny Depp. There were others.”
He laughed, “They regret it now. I regret doing f**king ‘Batman’.”
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Elsewhere during the chat, Clooney revealed how they got Julia Roberts on board to play his character Danny Ocean’s ex-wife Tess.
“We sent Julia a script and I wrote a note saying, ‘I hear you get 20 [million dollars] a picture now,’” Clooney said, according to Variety. “And we sent her a $20 bill… It made her laugh, and yes, she jumped right on board.”