While it has ultimately been decided that Michael Fassbender will be cast as Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic about the late Apple co-founder, a leaked email exchange reveals that writer Aaron Sorkin originally had a more prominent actor in mind for the role: Tom Cruise.
Ars Technica has shared a few excerpts from the email exchange, leaked as part of the massive Sony data dump, in which Sorkin tells Columbia Pictures chairman Amy Pascal that he has somewhat convinced producers Danny Boyle and Scott Rudin about casting Cruise as Jobs.
Sorkin wrote in his email:
The screenwriter then wrote a follow-up email:
Pascal agreed bringing on Cruise was a good idea, adding that Boyle and Rudin were skeptical about the actor’s older age and were more set on having Fassbender play the role. The emails were exchanged in late October, just weeks before Sony handed off the movie to Universal.
Sorkin was quite blunt in his response: “This used to be an event. I don’t know who Michael Fassbender is and the rest of the world isn’t going to care. This is insane.” He soon conceded that Fassbender is a “great actor whose time has come,” noting that “if the movie’s good, he’ll be on the cover of everything and get nominated for everything.”
While Sorkin was eyeing Cruise, the emails revealed actors Matthew McConaughey and Tobey McGuire both expressed interest in portraying Jobs in the biopic, according to Ars.
The leaked Sony data most recently revealed falling revenue forecasts for the Steve Jobs biopic and confirmed actress Natalie Portman’s decision to pass up a role in the movie. In addition to Michael Fassbender cast as Steve Jobs and Seth Rogen cast as Steve Wozniak, Universal is eyeing The Newsroom star Jeff Daniels to play former Apple CEO John Sculley, although the leaked emails show actor Tom Hanks previously expressed interest in the role.
Production of the biopic will reportedly begin in the spring.
Image via Ars Technica
