The 2001 film featured a star-studded cast, including Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and more.
When it comes to George Clooney's list of regrets, Ocean's Eleven is not one of them.
During a candid interview at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival, Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh dropped a few nuggets about the 2001 film and its star-studded cast -- including the famous actors who now regret not joining Danny Ocean and his band of brothers for the remake of the 1960s Rat Pack classic.
Clooney revealed that Mark Wahlberg and Johnny Depp were in talks to play Linus, the role that ultimately went to Matt Damon.
"Steven had just done Erin Brockovich and Traffic, and he was nominated for directing both films," Clooney said at the event. "So, people really wanted to work with Steven."
Despite wanting to work with the director, both Wahlberg and Depp turned down the offer to join Clooney on the film.
"Some very famous people told us to f**k right off...." he revealed.
"Mark Wahlberg's one of 'em. He said it," TCM host Ben Mankiewicz interjected.
"Johnny Depp. There were others...the brothers -- Owen Wilson," Clooney added. "They regret it now. Oh, they regret it. I regret doing f**king Batman."
Wahlberg and Depp are just two of the famous names to pass up a role in the Ocean's franchise. Back in 2021, Ben Affleck joked that he too turned down a part in Ocean's Eleven because he wasn't sure Clooney was a "big enough star."
Appearing on SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show to promote the Clooney-directed film, The Tender Bar, Affleck opened up about his longstanding working relationship with the multi-hyphenate.
"He came to me on Ocean's and I was like, 'I don't know, George. I don't know if you're a star. I don't know if you're doing good. I'm gonna see. How do these franchises work? Who are these other actors you assembled?" Affleck quipped. "Is this gonna be any good? Who is this [Steven] Soderbergh? I'm not ready for this. And I don't believe in you yet. I'm gonna keep you at an arm’s length.'"
Though his answer was a bit tongue-in-cheek, the pair would later go on to team up on Argo, with Clooney as a producer, before finally directing Affleck in the adaptation of J.R. Moehringer's 2005 memoir.
"And then I thought, I'm gonna give him a crack with Argo," he continued. "Oh, you can produce it. But you know what I mean? Let's see if your ideas are any good or not. He had some decent ideas and finally I thought, 'You know what? OK, I'm ready to trust the guy.' And I think he panned out nicely."
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