George Clooney reveals epic prank by Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt apparently pranked George Clooney by posting a memo on to telephone poles claiming Clooney to be a diva while filming Oceans 12. Photo / Getty

George Clooney has revealed the hilarious prank that Brad Pitt pulled on him when they were filming Ocean's 12 in Italy.

Speaking to GQ, Clooney recalled how Pitt made him out to be a diva while they were shooting the 2004 film in Lake Como where Clooney lives.

"Brad sent out a memo to all the people in the town – my town! I've lived there for years – but he had it posted on telephone poles. It said, 'The movie is coming to town, and please only address George Clooney as Mr Clooney, and his character's name is Danny Ocean, and don't look him right in the eyes.'"

The local press fell for the prank, resulting in some negative headlines for Clooney.

"The papers were like, 'George Clooney is Il Divo!' It was a horrible story," Clooney laughed.

He was on the receiving end on this occasion, but usually it's Clooney who pulls the pranks on his co-stars.

One of his best was on Matt Damon when they were filming The Monuments Men. Clooney told the wardrobe department to take in the waist of Damon's pants every couple of days, tricking the actor into thinking he was putting on weight.

"It was just funny because he showed up on the set, Matt looks great," Clooney told E! News. "He shows up on the set, he's like 'I wanna lose 15 pounds (6kg) on this movie.'

"So he's dieting and exercising. He would go away for a week and I would just have the wardrobe people take in his wardrobe half an inch. By the end, he's just like eating a grape but his pants are getting tighter," Clooney laughed.

Damon didn't find out he'd been pranked until after the movie finished shooting.