Christian Bale will take on the role of Steve Jobs in the film adaption of Walter Isaacson's 'Steve Jobs', the best-selling biography of Apple's former CEO.
Speaking to Bloomberg Television, scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin confirmed the casting with a nod to Bale's repertoire. "We needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range and that’s Chris Bale. He didn’t have to audition. Well, there was a meeting."
Academy Award winner Sorkin has already proven to be a strong box office draw as the scriptwriter of Silicon Valley based 'The Social Network'. That film saw Jesse Eisenberg play CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the birth of Facebook.
Talking about the script in November 2012, Sorkin suggested that it would not be a linear biography, rather it would showcase a number of turning points in Jobs' life. The 1984 Macintosh press conference, the launch of the iPod in 2001, and the period of self-discovery at NeXT in 1990, were highlighted as potential vignettes.
Bale had already been linked to the Jobs role when Sony Pictures (who purchased the film rights to Isaacson's biography) approached 'The Social Network's' director David Fincher to helm the picture. Those negotiations fell through and names such as Bradley Cooper and Matt Damon were mentioned against the role, but Sorkin's announcement of Bale should put an end to the speculation.
Given Bale's quiet and brooding menace in the Batman Trilogy, 'The Fighter', and 'Terminator Salvation', Sorkin believes the wordy script will challenge him. "He has more words to say in this movie than most people have in three movies combined," he told Bloomberg. "There isn’t a scene or a frame that he’s not in. So it’s an extremely difficult part and he is gonna crush it."
