George Clooney and Channing Tatum Revel in the Idiocy of their Hail, Caesar! Characters

George Clooney has been in Hollywood long enough for people to know he’s no dummy – but he sure plays great ones in movies for the Coen Brothers.

The actor’s latest is the dimwitted movie star Baird Whitlock in the showbiz satire Hail, Caesar, opposite a slew of A-listers: Channing Tatum, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill and . Whitlock is, in Clooney’s words, “a blazing idiot.”

Get push notifications with news, features and more.

“There’s no bulb at all,” Clooney tells PEOPLE of the character being less-than-bright. “That’s how un-bright these bulbs are. I’ve never played a character with any integrity or any intelligence in any of [the Coen Brothers] movies and I’ve done four of them. They keep offering them to me with these notes, ‘We wrote this with you in mind,’ which concerns me.”

Clooney and Tatum – real-life friends who may-or-may-not have met under auspicious circumstances – both agree that the fun of the film is the opportunity to work with Ethan and Joel Coen.

“It’s fun,” says Clooney. “When you look back at the history of film the [Coen Brothers] are going to be up there with the greatest of all time. To be able to do movies with them is really fun.”

For Tatum, who mastered tap dancing for an epic song and dance number in the film, he just wanted the chance to audition.

“I didn’t care if I got the job,” he says of wanting to just get in the room. “To get to work with them is pretty insane.”

“He auditioned for the Scarlett Johnansson part,” jokes Clooney of Johansson’s Esther Williams-like swim star. “Which was probably a mistake.”

“It was a little awkward watching her,” adds Tatum. “I’m an amazing swimmer, first off. And my mermaid tail game is so much tighter than hers.”