Brad Pitt Almost DIDN'T Star In Half His Most Iconic Movies — And The Casting Stories Are Wild

He Auditioned For Thelma & Louise THREE TIMES Before Landing It — And George Clooney Still Isn't Over It

Brad Pitt's breakout role as J.D. wasn't handed to him — he got passed over, brought back, passed over again, and finally cast, beating out finalists including George Clooney. Clooney has since admitted he's still salty about it decades later, and honestly, we get it.

Denzel Washington Turned Down Se7en Because He Thought It Was 'Too Demonic' — And He Still Regrets It

Before it was Brad Pitt's David Mills, the role was offered to Denzel Washington, who said no because the script felt too dark. He later admitted he watched the finished film and immediately realized he'd made a mistake, telling Jamie Foxx he blew it.

Brad Pitt Actually Wanted The OTHER Lead In Twelve Monkeys — And Terry Gilliam Was Terrified He'd Blow It

Pitt originally wanted to play James Cole, the role that went to Bruce Willis, and only agreed to stick with the manic Jeffrey Goines after director Terry Gilliam talked him into it. Gilliam has since admitted he was genuinely scared Pitt couldn't pull off the fast-talking lunacy since audiences had never seen him play anything like it before.

Russell Crowe Was In Talks To Play Tyler Durden Before The Studio Picked Pitt Instead

A producer met with Russell Crowe about Fight Club's Tyler Durden before a more senior producer pushed to cast Pitt instead, and the studio signed him for $17.5 million. Fight Club flopped in theaters and got booed at its Venice premiere, but Pitt reportedly turned to Edward Norton that night and said it was the best movie he'd ever be in — and years later, he's been proven completely right.

Tom Cruise Almost Played Cliff Booth In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Before Pitt won his first competitive acting Oscar for the role, Quentin Tarantino actually had conversations with Tom Cruise about playing stuntman Cliff Booth. Tarantino ultimately decided the DiCaprio-Pitt pairing was his true number one choice, calling it the casting coup of the decade.

And Now? F1 Just Made Him The Biggest Box Office Star Of His OWN Career

F1: The Movie became Pitt's highest-grossing leading role ever, blowing past World War Z with over $630 million worldwide and even landing four Oscar nominations including Best Picture. He's not slowing down either — he's already back in Cliff Booth mode filming The Adventures of Cliff Booth, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follow-up he personally convinced David Fincher to direct.