George Clooney and Brad Pitt have been friends for decades, but that doesn’t mean they’re always willing to accept one another’s texts.
“I was doing Ticket to Paradise with Jules [a.k.a. Julia Roberts] and we were in a helicopter and we would text Brad,” Clooney, 63, recounted to GQ in an interview published on Tuesday, August 13, detailing one of his text exchanges with Pitt, 60.
Pitt interjected, revealing that the content of Clooney and Roberts’ texts were very silly. “I would get photos of them with the dumbest looks on their faces at each location you moved to,” he said, joking, “I didn’t even want ’em.”
Although Pitt wasn’t a fan of his Ocean’s Eleven costars spamming him with tropical photos while on location, both he and Clooney confirmed they’re thick as thieves. “It’s a very good question,” Clooney told the outlet when asked whether he’s friends with Pitt outside of work. “After the restraining order that I took out …”
Pitt seamlessly finished Clooney’s sentence — and went along with the bit — joking, “Which was really, I had already had one against him — it’s kind of redundant. Unnecessary. This is why we’re sitting six feet apart now.”
Clooney clarified that he and Pitt are “friends” and have been “for a long time.” That connection, however, didn’t happen without both parties making an effort.
“It’s fun because we also check in on each other every once in a while, which is an important part of this,” Clooney shared. “Things get complicated in life and you always have to make sure everybody’s OK.”
Pitt agreed, noting he often turns to Clooney for advice. “George is probably the best at understanding, seeing the chessboard and the potential moves,” he said. “I’ll call George on numerous occasions when things get bumpy.”
Pitt acknowledged that he and Clooney have several shared experiences after coming up in Hollywood around the same time. “Listen, there’s been wonderful experiences from the job and there’s also been really heavy pressures,” he explained. “I once equated celebrity to — one, you’re being hunted.”
Pitt called it “the gazelle thing,” comparing a lot of acting to “being cut off from the herd.” Luckily for Pitt, he’s had Clooney in his corner since they first worked together in 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven.
“George is going to understand something that no one else is going to understand, that we don’t even have to speak about. There’s a comfort in that,” he continued. “There’s another smaller tribe that erupts from that because of the pressures and the struggles that one will have in their own life.”
The actors’ latest project, Wolfs, further cemented their connection, according to Pitt. (In Wolfs, Pitt and Clooney play “two lone wolf fixers who are assigned to the same job,” per the logline.)
“When this thing came up, I thought, ‘Ah, man, I’ve known this guy since the ’90s and been through so much life at this point and so many twists and curves and turns and there’s something just, I don’t know,’” he lamented. “I felt there was something really lovely just that we could do something shoulder to shoulder.”
Over the years, the duo have worked on seven projects together and both had box-office and critical success, but when they met, they were battling it out on screen and in the public’s heart for the title of hottest movie star.
“When George first stood out to me is really when Princess Diana died in the crash, and George got up to speak about it,” Pitt recalled, referring to Diana’s 1997 death following a paparazzi chase in Paris. “The hunt? I can’t tell you, I can’t describe it to anyone. It was insane. You would have nine cars following you. They’re waiting for you.”
Pitt remembered Clooney speaking out about the “invasive” tactics that led to the high-speed chase and feeling moved. “That’s when I saw: This guy’s got something that the rest of us don’t. Like, I saw the leader in that moment,” Pitt recalled.
Clooney, meanwhile, revealed that he was “one of the last people in the running” for Thelma & Louise, a part that Pitt ultimately got, which he couldn’t let go for a while.
“I knew it was going to be a big film, but I didn’t know it was going to be like that,” Clooney said of Pitt’s role as J.D. “And his career was like this [Clooney mimes something going way up] and I’m still doing some bad TV show or something. I wouldn’t watch Thelma & Louise for a couple of years.”
Pitt teased, “Don’t forget, we’re also competitive motherf–kers. We are. I mean, all of us. [Matt] Damon. All of us.”
Clooney agreed, adding, “I want to beat you at any job. But if I don’t get it, I would like you to get it.”
Wolfs hits theaters on Friday, September 20.
