Others here with old Macs seem to have had a much smoother run than me!
You can absolutely run Linux like a champ on that machine, but for reasons I’m not advanced enough to know/understand I’ve struggled with even booting the live USB for multiple distros on my Mid-2012 15" Retina. Maybe it’s the version of the hybrid Intel/Nvidia graphics on the model, I can’t really say.
I’m currently writing this from Linux Mint on said Mac, and all is well; but I’ve experienced the following:
OpenSuse installer couldn’t even be seen at startup manager
MX Linux would freeze during boot to the installer
Elementary OS wouldn’t boot following install
Pop! OS installed the wrong Nvidia driver for the computer, and with the open source drivers stopped booting after running a few updates
Nitrux would freeze during boot to the installer
Ubuntu stopped booting a few days in after an update
Debian might have worked but wouldn’t detect my trackpad, wifi or USB ethernet adaptor so I couldn’t properly get it installed
Manjaro worked for a while but eventually failed after an update
ArcoLinux wouldn’t wake from sleep running the live USB
I totally recommend Linux Mint overall. I’ve decided I like Cinnamon best, “it just works” far more than anything else I’ve tried. I consider it the closest to macOS in terms of being thought about from every angle and set up and ready to go as a beginner or as a more advanced user.