The Full Story Behind That Time George Clooney 100% Pranked Tom Cruise While Pretending To Be Brad Pitt

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt conversing in Interview with the Vampire
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

George Clooney is a known practical joker. The actor is almost as famous for some of his antics as he is for his films. His friends like Brad Pitt and Matt Damon have spoken often about some of the pranks that Clooney has pulled, but the actor recently told a story about pranking Tom Cruise that has to be one of the best we’ve heard.

Clooney has frequently used letters as the method for his pranks. It's been mentioned before that Clooney would write letters to people with Bill Clinton's stationery, but now we know exactly how he got it as well as stationery from other celebs he has used for pranks.

How George Clooney Ended Up With Brad Pitt Stationary

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live to discuss Wolfs, his new movie with Brad Pitt, Clooney revealed that, it is thanks to Kimmel that he has stationary that came from the desk of former President Bill Clinton as well as other famous names. Kimmel explained the gift he gave to Clooney, saying…

I had received a letter from President Clinton, and I had that stationary duplicated. I’m not sure if that’s a crime or not. I had it duplicated at great expense, it’s a multi-color raised seal sort of situation and I gave it to you because I knew it would be in good hands and that you would have a lot of fun with it. I gave you stationery that said Brad Pitt’s name on it also.

The stationery was given by Kimmel because he knew Clooney would enjoy pranking his friends. And he has done so in spades. Clooney says every actor he knows has received a letter from Bill Clinton at one time or another, but it was the Brad Pitt stationary that led to a hilarious moment with Tom Cruise.

How George Clooney Pranked Tom Cruise Over A Fake Interview With The Vampire Sequel

While sending people letters as Bill Clinton sounds hilarious, it was the Brad Pitt stationary that led to a great story, as it ultimately resulted in both Pitt and Tom Cruise finding themselves wondering what was going on. Clooney sent a letter as Pitt to Cruise regarding a fictitious sequel to a movie they had made together, but with a strange twist. Clooney revealed…

The Brad Pitt one was brutal. I sent it to everybody. I sent it to Don Cheadle. I sent it to Tom Cruise saying that they want to do Interview [With The Vampire] 2 but this time Brad wants to play Lestat.

An Interview with the Vampire sequel is just the sort of movie we would expect some studio to want to make, there were even rumors that such a thing might happen. Of course, one would think they’d really want Tom Cruise involved. Casting Pitt as the character previously played by Cruise sounds so wild that I feel like somebody should have been suspicious from the start. But then, if it’s written on Brad Pitt’s personal stationary, why would you question it?

This same topic came up in a conversation between Kimmel and Brad Pitt recently and it turns out Cruise called Brad Pitt directly in response to the letter, which, of course, led to a great deal of confusion. Kimmel said…

Brad this afternoon said that Tom called him and said ‘Yeah, it’s cool, you can play Lestat. That’s fine, I’m ok with that.’ And he’s like ‘What are you talking about?’

At this point, I imagine Brad Pitt shaking his fist at the sky and shouting “Clooney!” It sounds like when moments like this arise there is never much question just who is responsible. To be fair, Brad Pitt has pulled pranks on Clooney too, so I guess all is fair.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.