If I told you that Pirates of Silicon Valley star Noah Wyle was set to return to the screen as Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic based upon Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography, you’d probably say, “Great Choice!” After all, Wyle was great as Steve. The role fits him. It would be wonderful to see him settle back into it over a decade later, and finish the arc.
Now, what if I told you that Noah Wyle had some competition for the role of Steve, and that competition was his old ER co-star George Clooney? What would you say then? My guess is your response would be the same as mine: “What the fffffffff……”
Cheesy British tabloid The Sun is reporting the aforementioned showbiz showdown between dapper, rugged heart-throb Clooney and beaky, dorky and adorable Wyle.
There aren’t any more details, but frankly, if this report is true, it sounds absurd. Steve Jobs was a handsome man in his own way, and very charismatic, but he had none of Clooney’s barrel-chested, twinkling-eyed machismo, or his cool, unflappable demand. I just don’t think Clooney can play Jobs. Jobs wasn’t a He-Man. Wyle, on the other hand, has already proven himself to be a fantastic casting decision.
Truthfully, I think this whole report is bunk. My guess is they’ll recast Steve Jobs with a far younger actor than Wyle. After all, it’s easier to age someone in a film than make him younger, and there are far, far more marketable young actors right now in Hollywood than cute old Noah.