George Clooney ripped Mark Wahlberg, revealing that the conservative actor told him to “f*ck right off” when Clooney offered him a major role in one of his films. Clooney also blasted Johnny Depp, who turned him down for the same role.
While being interviewed at the TCM Classic Film Festival, George Clooney claimed that Mark Wahlberg had been offered a major role in his 2001 hit film, Ocean’s Eleven. The Oscar-award-winning actor revealed that he had slated Wahlberg for the part of Linus Caldwell, which eventually went to Matt Damon. However, Wahlberg wasn’t the only famous actor who turned down the same role.
Clooney also blasted actor Johnny Depp for turning down the role of Linus Caldwell. “Some very famous people told us to f— right off. Mark Wahlberg, Johnny Depp. There were others. They regret it now. I regret doing f—ing ‘Batman,'” Clooney said, according to Fox News. “Steven [Soderbergh] had just done Erin Brockovich and Traffic, and he was nominated for directing both films… So, people really wanted to work with Steven,” Clooney continued. “That said, some people did say no to us.”
It’s no accident that Clooney looked to Matt Damon when Wahlberg and Depp declined the role. According to People Magazine, Damon and Clooney have been best friends for over 20 years. The two first met in 1999, right when Clooney was coming off of his breakout, Emmy-nominated stint on NBC’s ER.
Many A-list stars did end up signing on for Ocean’s Eleven, which starred George Clooney and Matt Damon as well as Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, and others. It was so successful that it spawned three sequels: Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen, and Ocean’s 8.
Wahlberg and Depp might not have been the only famous names to turn down roles in this movie. Insider reported that others who are rumored to have turned down roles in Ocean’s Eleven include Danny Glover, Bruce Willis, Owen Wilson, and Luke Wilson. During the filming of Ocean’s Eleven, Variety reported that Depp was being considered for the role of Linus Caldwell before Wahlberg was allegedly cast, but Wahlberg then dropped out of the production to make Planet Of The Apes, leading to Damon being cast in the role instead.
Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney couldn’t be further from each other when it comes to personal politics and matters of faith. Clooney was raised a strict Roman Catholic, but in 1998, he said that he did not know if he believed “in Heaven or even God.” In contrast, Wahlberg has been very vocal about how much his Catholic faith means to him. “[The faith] part of the discipline has really afforded me all the other wonderful things in my life, my family, my career, being able to turn my life around,” he said.
Additionally, during the heated 2016 presidential campaign, Clooney slammed Donald Trump. “There is not gonna be a President Donald Trump,” Clooney said. “It’s not gonna happen.” In contrast, Mark Wahlberg made headlines when he blasted celebrities for talking politics after he was asked about the seemingly endless number of celebs who bashed Trump.
“A lot of celebrities did, do, and shouldn’t [talk about politics],” Wahlberg told Task & Purpose, a news and analysis outlet geared toward American service veterans. “You know, it just goes to show you that people aren’t listening to that anyway,” the actor told the outlet. “They might buy your CD or watch your movie, but you don’t put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills. A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble. They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family.”
As for Johnny Depp, the veteran actor became the darling of many conservatives despite being a target in the past when he made a remark in which he joked about “an actor assassinating the president.” According to Rolling Stone, when Depp won his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, many Republicans saw it as a win for those who are out to “cancel” anyone based on unproven allegations after the “me too” movement took hold.
“Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump Jr., and other right-wing figures are now standing behind the actor who once joked about assassinating Trump,” the outlet reported. Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch, who was regularly retweeted by Trump, summed it up nicely. Shortly after the court decision in Depp’s case was handed down, Fitton wrote, “Johnny Depp has showed us what one has to do to begin to get one’s reputation back in this corrupt woke media age.”
