2001’s heist movie Ocean’s 11 is a classic and it features a number of big-name actors, but the cast could have included other huge names. Star George Clooney told Entertainment Weekly that Mark Wahlberg and Johnny Depp probably now regret passing on the movie.
Clooney said many actors “really wanted” to work with director Steven Soderbergh after his movies Erin Brockovich and Traffic won Oscars, but some people balked. “Some very famous people told us to f–k right off. Mark Wahlberg, Johnny Depp. There were others. They regret it now,” Clooney said, adding that he has regrets, too. “I regret doing f–king Batman.“
Wahlberg and Depp were apparently eyed for the role of Linus, which was played by Matt Damon. Damon reprised the role for the Ocean’s sequels that followed.
Also in the piece, Clooney recalled how he sent the Ocean’s 11 script to Julia Roberts with a $20 bill on it, writing, “I hear you get 20 a picture now.” He was referring to Roberts’ per-movie rate of $20 million at the time. Roberts was amused with the joke and signed on to star.
Ocean’s 11 also featured Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, and Eddie Jemison. It was a big box office success, spawning sequels Ocean’s 12 (2004) and Ocean’s 13 (2007). Soderbergh was reportedly thinking about Ocean’s 14 years ago, but elected not to move forward after Bernie Mac died in 2008.
The latest entry in the series was 2018’s Ocean’s 8 starring Sandra Bullock as Danny Ocean’s sister. Although each entry was less successful than the last at the box office, together the Ocean’s films represent a juggernaut with more than $1.4 billion in total.
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