George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon’s heist comedy film was a success that it spawned two sequels. Clooney admitted that he was very much involved in convincing Julia Roberts to join the movie.
George Clooney shared a fun fact about Ocean’s Eleven. Those who watched the film knew that Julia Roberts was among the cast.
Roberts appeared in both Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve as Danny Ocean’s (Clooney) ex. They had great exchanges in the film.
However, when the movie was released in 2001, Roberts’ career in its peak. She was making $20 million a movie.
So, even if Brad Pitt and Matt Damon signed on, Clooney still made an effort to reach out to Roberts.
“I remember Julia. I didn’t know her. I’d never met her and she was making $20 million dollars a film,” Clooney was quoted by Cinema Blend as saying.
“And we just talked Brad [Pitt] into doing it and Matt [Damon] into doing it and we wanted Julia [Roberts] to do it. So, I put a $20 dollar bill on a script and I sent it to her. And I said, ‘I hear you get $20 a picture now.’”
Ocean’s Eleven was Clooney’s first movie with Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. However, Clooney and Roberts went on and worked again together 15 years later in the 2016 American thriller Money Monster.
Julia Roberts and George Clooney became good friends after starring in several movies together. However, various outlets made some issues with their closeness.
Woman’s Day published a report claiming that Roberts and Clooney had a romantic relationship. He allegedly ditched his wife, Amal Clooney, for his co-star.
It quoted a so-called insider claiming that Clooney ordered his driver to take him to Malibu to see her even before he checked into his own home. Roberts was also allegedly having a strained marriage with her husband, Danny Moder, due to her alleged affair with Clooney.
Woman’s Day wasn’t the only tabloid that speculated about Roberts and Clooney’s relationship. NW also published a similar storyline alleging that Clooney cheated on Amal with Roberts.
“There’s so much divorce talk surrounding both couples right now, and you can bet your bottom dollar that if George and Julia find themselves single, they’ll be getting together in a heartbeat,” an anonymous insider said.
However, those reports were not true. George Clooney and Julia Roberts are both happily married. They never had an affair and have always been good friends from the time they started working together.