Geena Davis claims George Clooney 'hated' Brad Pitt after he lost out on major film role

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are Hollywood's most famous bromance, but it turns out their friendship had a rocky starting point.

Geena Davis, 70, appeared on Watch What Happens Live on Thursday and revealed that Clooney once hated Pitt - because Pitt had beaten him to the role that turned his career supernova.

The part in question was J.D. in the 1991 classic Thelma & Louise, a small but electric supporting role as the charming hustler that turned Brad Pitt, then largely unknown, into an overnight star.

Davis had read with all four finalists for the role, and she told host Andy Cohen that Pitt simply had the best reading of them all.

"He got the part all on his own merit," she said, adding that she could tell immediately that Pitt was something special.

What she didn't know at the time was that one of the other finalists was a then struggling TV actor named George Clooney, who was at that point grinding through guest spots on The Facts of Life, The Golden Girls and Roseanne, years away from his breakthrough on ER.

George Clooney was reportedly gutted to lose out on a role to Pitt in Thelma & Louise (Photo by Amy Sussman/WireImage)

What did George Clooney say about losing the Thelma & Louise role?

Davis recalled bumping into Clooney on a plane shortly after the film came out. He was, she said "very gregarious" and "talkative', until the conversation turned to Brad Pitt.

"We're talking about Brad Pitt and he says, 'You know, I hate that Brad Pitt,'" Davis recalled.

"I said, 'no, you don't. Isn't he like your best friend or something?'"

Clooney insisted otherwise. "No, I hate him because he got the part in Thelma & Louise."

David pressed him: "Oh, did you want to get that part?" To which Clooney replied: "Couldn't you tell when I read with you?"

The story checks out. In a 2025 interview with the Sunday Times, Clooney admitted: "I got to the final test for a role in Thelma & Louise. And, motherf*cker, Brad got it."

He added: "I didn't watch Thelma & Louise for years because I was annoyed. the part launched his career in film. He was doing sitcoms and crap before, so when it was the thing that could have launched me? F**K!"

George Clooney and Brad Pitt famously were in the Oceans franchise together (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Are Brad Pitt and George Clooney friends?

Of course, both men went on to become two of the biggest stars on the planet, and close friends who starred together in the Oceans Eleven Franchise from 2001. Pitt even thanked Davis and director Ridley Scott during his Oscar acceptance speech for Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, saying they gave him "my first shot."

Thelma & Louise was nominated for five Academy Awards, with screenwriter Callie Khouri winning for Best Original Screenplay.