Actors George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and the others had a blast on the sets the Ocean’s films as is evident by the many stories from the sets of the films shared by the ensemble. However, there is one actor who does not seem to buy anything that comes out of their mouths – Mark Wahlberg.
Ocean’s ElevenMark Wahlberg was offered the chance to be in the Ocean’s trilogy but he refused. And while you may think that the actor regrets missing out on the films, he is actually quite relieved. In fact, he once slammed George Clooney and Brad Pitt for creating a false narrative around the films that he believes s*cked.
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg was out for George Clooney’s Ocean’s trilogy and he was not afraid to say it out loud. While appearing for an interview with UK’s Zoo Today, the Uncharted actor was asked if it was true that he turned down the opportunity of being in the Ocean’s franchise.
Instead of replying with a simple ‘Yes,’ Wahlberg absolutely annihilated the franchise, as well as Brad Pitt and Clooney. Wahlberg stated,
“Yeah – and it was well worth it. The second one s*cked! People tell George Clooney it’s great, but we all know it s*cked I made two bad movies instead — Planet of the Apes and The Truth About Charlie — but doing that was better than sitting with Brad and George, telling the press how great everybody is! ‘We were in Europe, George was funny, then we had some wine…’ — that’s not for me. I do love those guys, but I had to step out on my own.”
The role which Wahlberg refused to do ended up going to Matt Damon, instead. Damon, unlike Wahlberg, did not mind sitting down with his co-actors to reminisce about their time on the sets of the trilogy.
George Clooney Believes Mark Wahlberg Regrets His Decision
Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival
While it does not seem that Wahlberg has a single care to give about missing out on the trilogy, Clooney would beg to differ. While speaking at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival, the actor stated that since filmmaker Steven Soderbergh received Oscar nominations for two of his films, actors wanted a chance to work with him. Well, not everyone.
“Steven had made Erin Brockovich and Traffic and had been nominated for a Best Director Oscar for both, so people wanted to work with him. That said, there were people who told us no.”
He then added that some famous actors – Wahlberg and Johnny Depp included – said no to being a part of the ensemble and that they regret it now.
“Some very famous people told us to f*ck right off. Mark Wahlberg, Johnny Depp. There were others. They regret it now. I regret doing f*cking Batman.”
