AceShowbiz - Don Cheadle and his "Ocean's 12" castmates, including George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt, faced constant paparazzi attention while filming in Italy. To cope, they devised a unique strategy: they would distract the press with Pitt's overwhelming celebrity status.

"If the paparazzi would come, I'd be with George or Matt or something and we'd go, 'Look, there's Brad!' and they'd just all," said Cheadle on the "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" podcast, making a whooshing gesture. At the time, Pitt's fame was at its peak, and Cheadle recognized the vast difference it made in their experiences.

"Brad can't go anywhere," said Cheadle. "He can't just go around like I can. I don't really get bothered that much. Somebody will say something or I'll know somebody will recognize me, but for the most part, I am low key."

Cheadle reflected on the expectations that come with fame, noting that fans often believe they have the right to invade an actor's personal space.

"People are like, 'Well, what did you expect?' They think that's the contract: 'I should get to walk up to you and put my hat on your head and go take a picture. What's wrong? I paid for this,' " said Cheadle.

Cheadle acknowledged that Pitt's level of fame is hard to comprehend. "It's not that [fans recognize you] as you," said podcast host Conan O'Brien. "It's this whole other... It's not that."

Before his breakout role in Thelma & Louise, Pitt worked steadily in relative obscurity. By the time Ocean's 12 was released, he had become Hollywood's leading man among leading men.

Cheadle, who has had a varied career spanning several decades, emphasized the challenges that come with such overwhelming fame. >"It's hard. You can't anticipate it," said Cheadle. "You've seen it, but you never think, 'It's not going to be me. I'm not gonna have to do maneuvers to get out of traffic because everyone's trying to chase me.' "