Hollywood actor George Clooney has revealed that one of the biggest early disappointments of his career still lingers: missing out on the role of J.D. in Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, the breakout part that ultimately went to Brad Pitt.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Clooney said he made it all the way to the final audition. “Brad got it,” he recalled, adding that his frustration at the time was so intense that he avoided watching the film for years. The character, a charming drifter who briefly crosses paths with Geena Davis’s Thelma, would famously launch Pitt into Hollywood stardom.
Clooney joked that Pitt still teases him about beating him to the part. “Oh, he still gives me shit,” he said with a laugh. Yet, when he finally saw the film, Clooney admitted he understood why the role clicked the way it did: “It had to be that guy.”
At that stage, Clooney was still waiting for his big break. While Pitt quickly moved on to headline films like A River Runs Through It, Interview with the Vampire, Se7en, and 12 Monkeys, Clooney’s rise happened a few years later. His star turn came with ER, where he played Dr Doug Ross from 1994 to 1999, a role that transformed him into a household name.
That momentum eventually led him to major projects, including Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin (1997) and Steven Soderbergh’s crime thriller Out of Sight (1998), the film widely credited with establishing him as a full-fledged leading man. Today, Clooney’s career has more than compensated for the early setback. He has earned two Oscars, four Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and multiple Emmy and Tony nominations. His body of work has also been recognised with honours such as the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2015), the Honourary César (2017), the AFI Life Achievement Award (2018), and the Kennedy Center Honour (2022).
