Michael Fassbender is one of the most respected and recognized actors in Hollywood. Having starred in many massively successful projects like Prometheus, The Light Between Oceans, Inglourious Basterds, and his work in the X-Men franchise, he has established himself as an incredibly talented and dedicated actor, immersing himself in any role that he takes up and delivering a truly immersive performance. He has also been awarded time and time again for this, including being nominated for an Academy Award twice throughout his career.
One of his most notable works outside of these projects has to be Steve Jobs, having helped the actor get one of his two Oscar nominations. Interestingly, however, Fassbender was not the first actor to play this role, as That ’70s Show star, Ashton Kutcher, portrayed the late Apple CEO.
Ashton Kutcher’s Portrayal Of Steve Jobs
Ashton Kutcher‘s 2013 film, Jobs, did famously very poorly. With the film only having a 27% percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was ripped to shreds by not only film critics but also fans of Steve Jobs. It was described to have portrayed the business magnate and inventor in the worst possible light, being called extremely inaccurate and not standing up to what he was like in reality.
Even though the actors did a good job, the filmmakers were heavily criticized for their work. The film was also slammed by Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, who revealed that the film left him very disappointed after being extremely excited about it, adding that it fell flat and it was disheartening for him to see people he knew in real life being portrayed in the wrong manner. These were perhaps the reason why this film was made again, this time, featuring Michael Fassbender.
Michael Fassbender Made Fun Of Ashton Kutcher
Michael Fassbender also played the role of Steve Jobs, featuring in the 2015 film of the same name. It is quite common when actors are portraying real-life people, that their audiences are curious about their preparation process to get into character. While many answer by stating that they read books about time, or met with people who knew them, Fassbender, took a different route, choosing to make a slight dig at his predecessor for the role.
“I studied Ashton Kutcher.” said Michael Fassbender
According to The Guardian, the actor was once asked, during a press conference at the New York Film Festival, how he did his preparation to play the role of Steve Jobs. Fassbender, jokingly replied that he took it from Ashton Kutcher’s portrayal of the character, taking a not-so-subtle dig at the No Strings Attached star’s performance in Jobs
Source: The Guardian
