59 Fun Facts About Ocean's Eleven

Who directed the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven?

Steven Soderbergh was also the film's cameraman: the cinematography credit to 'Peter Andrews' is the alias he uses for his own camerawork.

Who plays Danny Ocean in the 2001 Ocean's Eleven?

George Clooney's Danny is barely out of a New Jersey prison before he breaks parole, flying to Los Angeles to recruit his old partner for the casino job.

In Ocean's Eleven, the Bellagio's vault also holds the cash of which two other casinos?

The Mirage and MGM Grand, like the Bellagio, belong to Terry Benedict, and all three feed one underground vault, which the crew rebuild full-size to rehearse in.

Who plays casino owner Terry Benedict in Ocean's Eleven?

Andy García returns as Benedict in both sequels: first to demand his money back with interest, then to bankroll the crew's revenge on a rival casino owner.

Which character does Brad Pitt play in Ocean's Eleven?

Rusty Ryan is Danny's right-hand man, and he threatens to walk off the job when he realises Danny has a personal score to settle with the casino's owner.

Matt Damon plays which member of the crew in Ocean's Eleven?

Linus Caldwell, the crew's young pickpocket, was meant for Mark Wahlberg, who left to star in the Planet of the Apes remake before Damon stepped in.

In Ocean's Eleven, Tess is Danny Ocean's what?

Ex-wife: Tess is now dating Terry Benedict, the very man Danny plans to rob, so the job is as much about winning her back as about the money.

Which veteran comic plays elderly con man Saul Bloom in Ocean's Eleven?

Carl Reiner's Saul poses as a rich foreign arms dealer and has Benedict lock a case of 'gems' in the vault for him; the stones are really explosives.

In Ocean's Eleven, roughly how much cash does Danny expect the casinos' vault to hold on the night of the heist?

$150 million was even the film's tagline, '3 casinos. 11 guys. 150 million bucks', though the crew end up walking out with rather more: over $160 million.

What device does Basher use to black out Las Vegas during the Ocean's Eleven heist?

An EMP 'pinch' cuts the whole city's power for a few moments, killing the laser grid in the elevator shaft so Danny and Linus can drop down to the vault.

In Ocean's Eleven, how does Benedict realise the vault footage he watched was fake?

The Bellagio logo was missing because it had only just been installed in the real vault; the crew filmed their 'robbery' in a replica built without it.

How does the Ocean's Eleven crew actually walk the money out of the casino?

Disguised as a SWAT team: the crew intercept Benedict's own 911 call, turn up as the 'police' he asked for, and leave with the cash in their kit bags.

In Ocean's Eleven, what are the money bags in the decoy van really filled with?

Paper advertisements, the racy flyers handed out along the Strip, are all the bags hold; the van is a remote-controlled decoy and the cash never left with it.

Which cast member asked to have his name removed from the credits of Ocean's Eleven?

Don Cheadle says he asked for his name to be taken off after something behind the scenes went down in a way he didn't like; he is credited in both sequels.

Luke and Owen Wilson gave up Ocean's Eleven's Malloy twins to make which film?

The Royal Tenenbaums claimed both Wilsons when Wes Anderson called; the studio then eyed Joel and Ethan Coen for what would have been their starring debut.

In Ocean's Thirteen, what does Virgil Malloy start at the Mexican factory where he is sent to rig the dice?

A workers' strike: Virgil takes up the staff's cause instead of rigging the dice, and Turk, dispatched to bring him back into line, ends up carrying the walkout on.

Which two stars of 1960's Ocean's 11 cameo as themselves in the 2001 remake?

Henry Silva and Angie Dickinson sit ringside at the film's big title fight, alongside Las Vegas fixtures Wayne Newton and Siegfried & Roy.

Which sitcom star plays himself as one of Rusty's poker pupils in Ocean's Eleven?

Topher Grace sends himself up again in Ocean's Twelve, and was due back for Thirteen until his villain role in Spider-Man 3 got in the way.

Which film did Ocean's Eleven knock off the top of the US box office?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone had led for three straight weekends; Ocean's Eleven then lasted just one at the top before Vanilla Sky replaced it.

Who played Danny Ocean in the original 1960 Ocean's 11?

Frank Sinatra was brought the story by his co-star Peter Lawford, and the lead was not at first meant for him at all.

On which night does the 1960 Ocean's 11 gang strike?

New Year's Eve: at midnight a blown-up electrical tower blacks out the casinos, and each one's rewired backup generator unlocks the cash instead of lighting the room.

The gang in the 1960 Ocean's 11 are all veterans of which military unit?

The 82nd Airborne Division: Danny tracks down his wartime paratroop unit man by man, then runs the robbery with them like a military operation.

Where does the 1960 Ocean's 11 gang hide the loot, with disastrous results?

In a dead accomplice's coffin, expecting it to be shipped to San Francisco; instead the funeral is held in Las Vegas and he is cremated, cash and all.

In the 1960 Ocean's 11, what does Sammy Davis Jr.'s character drive to get the loot past police roadblocks?

A garbage truck: the gang dump the cash in the casinos' bins during the blackout, and Josh Howard, who works as a garbage collector, simply picks it up on his round.

Which future Batman villain plays mobster Duke Santos in the 1960 Ocean's 11?

Cesar Romero's Duke Santos, engaged to one gang member's mother, works out who robbed the casinos and demands a cut, which is why the loot gets hidden in such a hurry.

Which Dean Martin standard was written for the 1960 Ocean's 11?

Ain't That a Kick in the Head came from Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, and Martin, cast as a lounge singer, performs it in a casino with vibraphonist Red Norvo's group.

The closing shot of the 1960 Ocean's 11 shows the cast walking past which hotel's marquee, with their names on it?

The Sands was where the film's five stars really were appearing on stage together during the shoot, in a hotel two of them part-owned.

Which star makes an unbilled cameo as a tipsy woman in the 1960 Ocean's 11?

Shirley MacLaine was counted an honorary member of the Rat Pack, having starred with its leaders elsewhere, and she turns up here for a single scene without a credit.

In Ocean's Twelve, Benedict wants his money back with interest; which city does the crew hit first to raise it?

Amsterdam: too hot to work in America, the crew try a quick robbery there, only to find that a rival thief has beaten them to the prize.

What is the Night Fox's real name in Ocean's Twelve?

François Toulour, the rival thief played by Vincent Cassel, beats a museum's laser grid by dancing his way through it.

What object does the Night Fox challenge Danny to steal in Ocean's Twelve?

The Coronation Fabergé egg is the prize in a bet: get it first and the Night Fox pays the crew's debt to Benedict, so they quietly lift the real one in transit.

In Ocean's Twelve, Tess poses as which real celebrity, in a joke about the actress playing her?

Julia Roberts was pregnant during the shoot, and the script turned that into the gag: Tess wears a fake bump to pass for the famous actress.

Who plays Europol detective Isabel Lahiri in Ocean's Twelve?

Catherine Zeta-Jones's detective is an old flame of one of the crew, and she lands in trouble herself for forging a signature to get her arrest warrants.

Which Hollywood star plays himself in Ocean's Twelve and unwittingly wrecks Tess's part in the con?

Bruce Willis, playing himself, happens to be staying at the same Italian hotel, attaches himself to the 'star' he thinks he knows, and the con unravels around him.

Who plays casino mogul Willy Bank in Ocean's Thirteen?

Al Pacino's Willy Bank names his new Strip hotel after himself, The Bank, and the crew set out to wreck its opening night.

What prompts the crew to go after Willy Bank in Ocean's Thirteen?

Reuben's heart attack follows Bank forcing him to sign over his share of their new hotel; the crew gather at his bedside and plan their revenge.

What is the name of the AI security system that monitors gamblers' biometrics at The Bank in Ocean's Thirteen?

The Greco is said to be unbeatable, so the crew slip Bank a gold mobile phone with a magnetron hidden inside to knock it out on opening night.

What machine does the crew buy to fake an earthquake under The Bank in Ocean's Thirteen?

The Channel Tunnel drill breaks down before opening night, forcing the crew to ask their old enemy Terry Benedict to pay for a second one.

Which honour is the crew trying to stop The Bank from winning in Ocean's Thirteen?

The Five Diamond Award slips away as the crew make the real reviewer's stay miserable while Saul poses as him; Rusty later lets the poor man win $11 million on a rigged slot.

Who plays Abigail Sponder, Willy Bank's right-hand woman, in Ocean's Thirteen?

Ellen Barkin's Sponder is all cold efficiency until a disguised Linus seduces her to get at the jewels kept at the top of the hotel.

On whose talk show is Benedict forced to admit his 'philanthropy' at the end of Ocean's Thirteen?

Oprah Winfrey: earlier in the film Rusty catches Danny in tears over her show, and at the end they hand Benedict's cut of the take to a children's camp in his name.

At which film festival did Ocean's Thirteen have its premiere, out of competition?

Cannes showed it two weeks before American cinemas, where it opened at number one yet took less in its first weekend than Ocean's Twelve had.

Who plays Debbie Ocean in Ocean's 8?

Sandra Bullock's Debbie is Danny's younger sister, who walks out of prison on parole and straight back to her old partner with a heist already planned.

What is the target of the heist in Ocean's 8?

A Cartier diamond necklace called the Toussaint: the crew secretly scan it, make a zirconia copy and swap the two in the middle of the Met Gala.

Anne Hathaway plays which character in Ocean's 8?

Daphne Kluger is the vain film star the crew set up as their unwitting mule; she works out the plot, takes a share as its eighth member and ends up directing films.

Which Ocean's Eleven cast member reprises his role as Reuben Tishkoff in Ocean's 8?

Elliott Gould's Reuben is joined by one more of Danny's old crew: Yen returns to help lift a second, secret haul of jewels during the gala.

Which British TV host plays the insurance investigator in Ocean's 8?

James Corden's investigator, John Frazier, knows the Ocean family's history, so Debbie is his first suspect, until the security footage gives her an alibi.

Which pop star plays the hacker Nine Ball in Ocean's 8?

Rihanna's Nine Ball calls in her younger sister when the crew discover a magnetic lock that nobody had planned for.

Which real fashion figure appears as herself at the Met Gala in Ocean's 8?

Anna Wintour, Vogue's editor, plays herself at the film's gala, where one of the crew has talked her way onto the event's organising staff.

Where does Debbie go at the very end of Ocean's 8 to toast with a martini?

Danny's grave: the spin-off has her brother apparently dead before it begins, and Debbie ends the film drinking to him there, sure he would have loved the job.

The Ocean's prequel that Margot Robbie previewed at CinemaCon in 2026 centres on whom?

Danny Ocean's parents: Robbie called them the 'two masterminds' who taught him everything he knows, and promised a heist at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Which British comedian plays Roman Nagel, the crew's tech genius, in Ocean's Twelve and Thirteen?

Eddie Izzard's Nagel tells the crew that the casino's cheat detector can only be beaten by a giant magnetron or a natural disaster, so they arrange both.

Which Shah Rukh Khan heist comedy did one Indian critic call a cross between Ocean's 11 and Flashdance?

Happy New Year sends Khan's team of would-be thieves into a dance championship as cover for the vault they really came to rob.

Which Elvis Presley song is heard on the Ocean's Eleven soundtrack?

A Little Less Conversation is heard in the film in Presley's 1968 recording; Dutch producer JXL's remix then gave him a UK number one, almost 25 years after his death.

What job does Tess hold at Terry Benedict's casino in Ocean's Eleven?

Gallery curator: Linus, tailing Benedict, points her out as the curator of the casino's museum, and Rusty at once begs Danny to tell him the heist isn't about her.

Which skill earns Yen his place in Danny Ocean's crew?

Acrobatics: Qin Shaobo was a professional Chinese acrobat who had never acted when he was asked to audition, and by his own account a translator taught him his lines word by word.

Which Debussy piece plays as the Ocean's Eleven crew watch the casino fountains after the heist?

Clair de Lune, written for solo piano, is heard in the Philadelphia Orchestra's full orchestral version, releasing the heist's tension as the crew drift off their separate ways.

Which crew member works inside the casino as a blackjack dealer in Ocean's Eleven?

Frank Catton, played by Bernie Mac, is the new dealer inside the target casino, so Danny can open his security briefing with details 'courtesy of Frank Catton'.

Which heavyweight boxers fight as themselves on heist night in Ocean's Eleven?

Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko's bout is why the crew strike that night: a casino must hold cash to cover every chip in play, so a big fight fills the vault far beyond a normal weekend.