George Clooney thinks Hollywood can overcome sexism by casting women in roles written for men

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
(Image credit: Brad Barket/Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences/Getty Images)

Longtime pals George Clooney and Sandra Bullock spoke about making better film roles available to women at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday. Working on the film Our Brand is Crisis, starring Bullock and produced by Clooney, gave them an interesting idea.

Fed up with weaker acting gigs written for women, Bullock snagged the film's leading role, even though it was originally written for a man.

"The character is basically the same, other than the sex," she said, then teasing Clooney that it was a role he himself "could have played, or maybe I could have played it better."

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Clooney suggested swapping out the gender of movie characters is something that can and should happen more often, The Associated Press reports.

"There's a lot more out there if people just started thinking," he said.

If you're thrown off by the notorious prankster's rare bout of seriousness, never fear. He and Bullock, who moons someone in the film, proceeded to banter in front of festival-goers about their butt hair, with Clooney calling his a Chia Pet.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.