Ashton Kutcher is mainly known for playing the emotionally immature Michael Kelso in the sitcom That 70s Show. He is also known for producing and hosting the reality prank show Punk’d. The actor is known for comedies such as Dude, Where’s My Car?, No Strings Attached, and What Happens in Vegas.
Kutcher also gravitated to the dramatic category with the sci-fi film The Butterfly Effect and the biopic on the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Jobs. In the latter, Kutcher received a health scare when he tried to go method and try the fruitarian diet that Steve Jobs reportedly used to follow.
Ashton Kutcher As Steve Jobs in Jobs
While Ashton Kutcher had dabbled in the dramatic category with the sci-fi film The Butterfly Effect, he was still very much popular as the Punk’d guy and was mostly known for romantic comedies. His almost eight-year stint in the sitcom That 70s Show also added to his image of being a comedic star. However, Kutcher changed this with his performance in the film Jobs.
He played the former Apple CEO and the late co-founder Steve Jobs in the biopic, which dealt with the controversial leader’s life from his college days to the launch of the first iPod in 2001. Kutcher was not the only one to play the role, however, as actor Michael Fassbender also played Steve Jobs in a separate biopic by Danny Boyle called Steve Jobs, which was written by Aaron Sorkin.
In a way, Ashton Kutcher was perfectly suited to play the role as he himself was an entrepreneur and has been a venture capitalist since 2010. The actor has been an investor in successful apps such as Skype, Airbnb, and Neighborly. Kutcher seemed to have a proper understanding of the world that the film was set in.
Ashton Kutcher Ended Up In The Hospital While Preparing For Jobs
Despite the lackluster response to the film, Ashton Kutcher reportedly put in a lot of effort for the role. He reportedly studied hours of tapes of Steve Jobs to get his mannerisms and physicality right. He mentioned in an interview with USA Today that he felt a close connection to the former CEO due to their shared love for the tech space. He said,
“We both have a ravenous interest in the tech space…He’s a guy that failed and got back on the horse…I think we can all sort of relate to that in some place in our life where we are moving forward with something and we fall down.”
The actor also reportedly tried to follow the same fruitarian diet that Steve Jobs reportedly followed, which led to the former being hospitalized due to issues related to his pancreas. Steve Jobs passed away due to pancreatic cancer in 2011. Kutcher said,
“First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to severe issues. I went to the hospital like two days before we started shooting the movie. I was like doubled over in pain…My pancreas levels were completely out of whack. It was really terrifying … considering everything.”
Despite Kutcher’s dedication and performance as Steve Jobs receiving praise and positive responses, the film itself received negative reviews and was reported to be a surface-level exploration of the controversial figure. It was a moderate success at the box office, earning only $42 million globally. Michael Fassbender’s performance, on the other hand, received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Source: USA Today
