For everyone who thought Christian Bale was the perfect choice to play Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, I've got bad news for you. The actor has reportedly dropped out of the project.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Bale has left the Jobs biopic directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin initially confirmed Bale's casting on Oct. 23 in an interview with Bloomberg. "We needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range, and that's Chris Bale," he said.
But now it seems as though things have changed. "Sources say Bale, after much deliberation and conflicting feelings, came to the conclusion he was not right for the part and decided to withdraw," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The news comes just days after it was announced that Seth Rogen was in talks to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in the film. However, no official announcement regarding casting has been made yet.
It's unfortunate that Bale may not be portraying Jobs in this biopic any longer. One reason is because he is a fine actor who may be able to identify with Jobs' occasional ill temper. The other is that there is an uncanny resemblance between him and Jobs, which Rogen also shares with Wozniak. Is it possible for anyone else to live up to this?
This new Jobs biopic seems to be having a bit of trouble getting off the ground in general. It was previously reported that Leonardo DiCaprio was in talks to play Jobs, but he instead chose to shoot The Revenant. After DiCaprio exited the project, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Bradley Cooper were reportedly in consideration for the leading role. David Fincher was also initially tapped to direct.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Jobs biopic is slated "to begin shooting this winter for a quick turnaround." It's unclear how Bale's departure will affect casting or the production of the film, but at least we know it still has to be better than Ashton Kutcher's Jobs.
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