Brad Pitt's 'horrible' prank on ‘Ocean’s Twelve’ shoot led to Italian media calling George Clooney 'The Devil'
LAKE COMO, ITALY: Steven Soderbergh’s 2004 thriller film ‘Ocean’s Twelve’, the sequel to ‘Ocean's Eleven’ and the second installment of the Ocean’s movie trilogy was filmed in lead star George Clooney’s villa in Laglio at Lake Como, Italy. However, Clooney once revealed how costar Brad Pitt played a hilarious prank on him while filming the project and painted him as “the devil” in his own hometown.
During an interview with GQ, Clooney shared that Pitt convinced the press in Italy to address the former by the name of his character from the Ocean’s franchise and also asked them to avoid looking Clooney in the eye, the Daily Mail reported. The ‘Batman & Robin’ star said it was a “horrible story” and mentioned that he eventually gave it back to Pitt by playing another prank on the actor.
‘Brad sent out a memo’
Speaking about Pitt’s prank on him in Italy, Clooney told the publication, “Brad sent out a memo, to all the people in the town.” The actor continued, “He had posted on telephones and said the movie is coming to town, and please only address Mr George Clooney in his character name of Danny Ocean, and don’t look him right in the eyes.” He further explained that the local press did not take the situation well.
“It was like, ‘El Devil, George Clooney is El Devil’, it was a horrible story, which I later got him back for,” Clooney recalled. In ‘Ocean’s Twelve’, Clooney played the role of ringleader of Danny Ocean while Pitt played Robert "Rusty" Ryan, Danny's friend and second-in-command. The duo were joined by a string of other prominent stars including Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle and Casey Affleck, among others.
‘I am working on prank that will end his career’
In the wake of Pitt’s prank on Clooney, several media reports suggested that the latter got back to the ‘Fury’ star while filming ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ in 2007. While it is not known how exactly Clooney pranked Pitt, the actor once opened up on how he nearly got Pitt arrested once.
“I got a bumper sticker in the shape of a pot plant, that said, ‘F*** cops,’ and I put that on the back of his car,” Clooney told the Adobe Summit in 2016. “Because there’s no way you’re not getting arrested with that,” he mentioned. “I am working on a prank that will end his career. If you take the time, if you’re willing to sit on one for a couple of years, and just plant the seed… there’s no rush,” Clooney jokingly told the audience.