Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty Images; Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Michael Fassbender’s performance as the Apple exec is certainly not the first time Steve Jobs has been seen onscreen, with several adaptations, biographies and documentaries about his life. On the fiction side, Jobs has been played by Ashton Kutcher and Justin Long (via Funny or Die), and soon a stage actor will join that list as his life is being turned into a Broadway musical.
The film from Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin tells his story, focusing on the 1980s and ‘90s as he rises, falls and rises again at his Apple post. In Steve Jobs, Jobs is seen mostly in behind-the-scenes, backstage and intimate moments in the film as he plans to unveil some of his biggest products in his famous black turtleneck. It also addresses the question that many of his biographies also go into, which is whether Jobs was a misunderstood, tortured tech genius or a narcissistic, larger-than-life marketing demigod. In real life, Jobs’ appearances at press events were his time to shine, and the film reflects that spotlight on Fassbender.