Julia Roberts and George Clooney are stars in the entertainment realm, icons in their own right, and a pair with chemistry so convincing that it’s hard to believe they’re not actually in love.
Roberts and Clooney might just be friends in real life, but their tie to one another in several film projects is all based on that off-the-charts chemistry. Movie lovers everywhere rejoice anytime their names appear together on a film poster or in a trailer and when we get new characters played by the two to enjoy. Their most recent project, Ticket to Paradise, was just another example of the magic they bring together on screen.
Ticket to Paradise gave Clooney and Roberts the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to pick on one another for the length of a project, to hang out in a beautiful location for the duration of the film, to have quite an adventure together, and to fall in love on screen, deepening the friendship they share when the last scene is filmed.
Be it as friends, enemies, partners, or lovers, these two know how to work together, and movie fans everywhere only hope we’ve yet to see the last of them together. If Ticket to Paradise wasn’t enough, here are some other fantastic films you can see them star in together. Of course, we’ve got to give a shout to August: Osage County before we begin, as the pair technically worked on this movie together, but while Roberts did appear on screen, Clooney took on that movie as a producer instead of an actor.
Alright, here goes!
Ocean’s Eleven
In 2001, Clooney and Roberts starred together in Ocean’s Eleven, a remake of the 1960’s project of the same name. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Oceans Eleven saw Clooney as Danny Ocean, a man who assembles a group of thieves to rob Terry Benedict’s (Andy Garcia) three casinos and steal back his ex-wife Tess Ocean, played by Roberts. The pair divorced after Ocean went to prison for theft, so we’re not exactly sure that his line of thinking here was exactly the right choice, but he was able to prove something important to Tess.
While Ocean may not have been the “best man” for her initially, Benedict isn’t prioritizing her either. So, the thing that led to their divorce also led them to get back together, but as the old saying goes, the heart wants what it wants.
The film also stars Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, and, unofficially, Don Cheadle.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
In addition to co-starring with Julia Roberts, George Clooney also made his directorial debut with the 2002 film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The film starred Sam Rockwell as the lead character, Chuck Barris, a version of the real person who created The Dating Game and The Gong Show.
The movie was inspired by the book that Barris himself wrote, which the film took its name from. In it, he explains that he wasn’t just a television show host, that he was an assassin for the CIA. The CIA has denied his claims, but he remains firm in his belief that his story really happened, and the book and film follow the premise that he claims his life took. Clooney plays Jim Byrd in the film Barris’ “handler,” and Roberts stars as a CIA operative.
Ocean’s Twelve
The sequel to the 2001 film Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve was the third film to star both George Clooney and Julia Roberts. The film featured the return of pretty much the entire cast of the first film, with the addition of Catherine Zeta-Jones as Isabel Lahiri. It was once again directed by Steven Soderbergh, and it hit theaters in 2004. Ocean’s Twelve followed the events of the first film as Terry Benedict tracked down each member of Ocean’s Eleven and requested that they return the money they stole plus interest, or they would face the consequences.
The pair go on to carry out multiple heists to get the money to Benedict while they are chased by Lahiri – who used to date Rusty – and are forced to outwit Baron François Toulour, who also goes by the moniker of The Night Fox, played by Vincent Cassel. While George Clooney did return for the sequel to Ocean’s Twelve, which was aptly named Ocean’s Thirteen, both Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones did not.
Money Monster
Money Monster follows a man named Kyle Budwell, played by Jack O’Connell, who holds a live taping of a financial advice show called Money Monster hostage because a tip that George Clooney’s character, Lee Gates, advised people to take led Budwell to financial ruin. Jodie Foster directed the film, and it was released in 2016.
Jack O’Connell, George Clooney, and Julia Roberts arguably played the main characters, as Budwell held Patty Fenn (Roberts) hostage, as well as Gates. Fenn was the director of the Money Monster show, and she and Gates helped calm Budwell as they waited for the CEO of the company in which Budwell invested, Walt Camby, played by Dominic West. There was a 12-year gap between this film and their previous movie, and that is the longest gap between their films so far.
Ticket to Paradise
The most recent film for the pair to star is Ticket to Paradise, which sees them as a divorced couple who often argue whenever they come together for their child, Lily Cotton, played by Kaitlyn Dever.
After graduating from law school, Lily goes on a trip to Bali with her friend Wren, played by Billie Lourd. She goes on to meet a man, and the two fall in love and plan to get married, leading her to call her parents to come to Bali. When her parents find out that she is planning to marry as young as they did, they desperately try to break the young new couple up so they do not make the “same mistakes” that they believe they made.
While they certainly caused one another heartache, throughout the film, they soon realize that what happened between them wasn’t a mistake; they just needed time to figure out where their hearts belonged. If you’ve not yet seen this must-watch rom-com, you can stream it now on Peacock or Prime Video; and trust us, you won’t want to miss it.
With lengthy careers, we certainly wish that they’d starred in more projects together, but there’s still a lot of life to live for these two, and hopefully, many opportunities for them to come together in tales of espionage, drama, and a lot of romance. Here’s to George Clooney and Julia Roberts; may they continue to wow us for many decades to come.
