George Clooney Reveals 2 Big Hollywood Stars Told Him To ‘F*** Right Off’ When Offered Roles In ‘Ocean’s Eleven’

George Clooney revealed this week that two Hollywood A-list actors slammed the door in his face when he approached them about starring in the blockbuster 2001 movie “Ocean’s Eleven.”

“Some very famous people told us to f*** right off,” Clooney said during an interview at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival via Entertainment Weekly. “Mark Wahlberg, Johnny Depp. There were others. They regret it now. I regret doing f***ing ‘Batman.’”

“It’s also important to understand where we were at the time,” Clooney added. “The studios were making very big, broad, not very good films at that time. Steven had this idea of trying to infuse all of this independent film stuff that all of these young filmmakers were learning back into the studio system. It was going to get back to the things that they were doing from, like, 1964 to 1975.”

“Ocean’s Eleven” featured a star-studded cast, including Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Bernie Mac, Qin Shaobo, Don Cheadle, and Carl Reiner.

Wahlberg and Depp were reportedly approached about playing the role of Linus Caldwell — which was later filled by Damon.

“Ocean’s Eleven” director Steven Soderbergh confirmed during the interview that they were turned down by some major talent.

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“Steven [Soderbergh] had just done ‘Erin Brockovich’ and ‘Traffic,’ and he was nominated for directing both films,” Clooney said. “So, people really wanted to work with Steven.”

The film’s success led to three additional films, “Ocean’s Twelve,” “Ocean’s Thirteen,” and “Ocean’s Eight.”

“Ocean’s Twelve” and “Ocean’s Thirteen” feature the same cast as “Ocean’s Eleven,” while “Ocean’s Eight” features a female cast led by actress Sandra Bullock, who plays the role of Danny Ocean’s (Clooney) sister.