Clooney Wasn’t First Pick For ‘Solaris’
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – Despite his friendship with Steven Soderbergh, actor George Clooney wasn’t always the director’s first choice for “Solaris.”
Soderbergh told the Orange County Register on Tuesday he first considered casting actor Daniel Day-Lewis to play the hero of his space station romance that opened last week.
But Day-Lewis was busy with Martin Scorcese’s “Gangs of New York.” Soderbergh said he didn’t initially approach Clooney about the role, even though the pair are partners in the production company Section Eight.
“I thought he could do it, but I didn’t know if George thought he could do it now,” the director said. “Maybe in a year or two, when he was in a place in his career when he was more comfortable and had more faith in his skills, he would realize that he could do it.”
A few months later, Soderbergh received a letter from Clooney. “It said, ‘I think I would like to try to do this,'” the director recalled. “As soon as I read the letter, I knew he was ready to play this role.”
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