It’s no secret that Michael Fassbender — the actor probably best-known for playing Magneto in X-Men: First Class and Days of Future Past — wasn’t writer Aaron Sorkin’s first choice for the role of Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic.
But in a new interview, Fassbender says the screenwriter’s early lack of faith in him isn’t something he’s too bothered by, and puts it down to a difference of opinion.
According to emails leaked as part of the Sony hack late last year, Sorkin was rooting for Tom Cruise to get the role of Jobs — a piece of casting I would have been totally on-board with, given Cruise’s good looks, likability, intensity and hints that he may just be a tiny bit crazy under the surface.
When Fassbender’s name was touted, however, Sorkin described the move as “insane” and wrote that, “I don’t know who Michael Fassbender is and the rest of the world isn’t going to care.”
While he later warmed up to the decision and admitted that Fassbender is a “great actor,” it’s hardly the kind of total support you expect an actor would be looking for from one of the driving forces behind such a massive project.
Fassbender has now completed the Jobs biopic, under director Danny Boyle’s guidance, and he tells the Associated Press that he tried not to take Sorkin’s dig too personally.
“It’s whatever,” he said. “People have opinions. The Internet is the Internet. I have a job to do, so I just get on with that.”
We’ll have to wait until October to find out how Fassbender has done playing one of the most iconic and recognizable figures of our time. Although photos from set suggests Fassbender looks nothing like Jobs, most people thought that Ashton Kutcher was, physically, the perfect match for Apple’s legendary CEO.
And we all know how that movie turned out!
Source: Associated Press
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
5 responses to “Michael Fassbender responds to doubts that he can play Steve Jobs”
I still feel like Daniel Day Lewis could have pulled off the physical resemblance and the manic intensity. But unless a movie is horrible, you settle in and stop thinking about casting roles about 5 minutes in. Capturing the essence is more important than looking like their twin. As the article points out, Ashton got Jobs’ gait down pat, and the movie was horrible.
Noah Wyle was perfect, really wanted them to bring him back.
Actually, I hate saying this because Ashton sucks as an actor, but he’s looks the closest.
I just want another Steve Jobs movie to see if anyone can figure out why technology is relevant to those that are enthusiastic about it. To me it seems like every Steve Jobs movie portrays the followers as guys who can’t get laid who will take that extra 30 minutes to make sure everyone in the room understands the vital difference between bits and bytes. Every single movie has been offensive in this regard and completely full of it and nobody every says anything in any review about it… to me it’s the elephant in the room.
Bale would’ve gone into full method mode and nailed it.