Hollywood A-lister Christian Bale has reportedly bailed (no pun intended) on his role as Steve Jobs in an upcoming biopic of the Apple co-founder.
The Hollywood Reporter, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, claims that after much deliberation and conflicting feelings on the matter, the actor came to the conclusion that he was not the right man for the part and decided to withdraw.
The film, based on a script by Aaron Sorkin and set to be directed by Danny Boyle, was to begin filming this winter with a quick turnaround in mind. The Sony project is likely to forge ahead although it's unclear at this time whether or not Bale's pullout will impact other castings.
Seth Rogan is said to have been in discussions to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Given the film's script, which is to be divided into three acts that portray Jobs preparing to unveil the three major products that defined his legacy, Wozniak's character would likely only be featured in a minor supporting role.
During an interview with Bloomberg TV late last month, Sorkin said they needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range and that was Bale. The writer was so confident in Bale that an audition wasn't even required.
Bale is the second A-lister to pass up the opportunity to play Jobs. The role was initially offered to Leonardo DiCaprio but he declined in order to shoot The Revenant.