Christian Bale’s shock exit from upcoming Steve Jobs biopic

LESS than two weeks after Aaron Sorkin said that Christian Bale would play Steve Jobs in his forthcoming biopic, Bale has dropped out of the project.

US actor Christian Bale arrives on the red carpet for the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House in London on February 16, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ANDREW COWIE Picture: Afp

LESS than two weeks after Aaron Sorkin said that Christian Bale would play Steve Jobs in the screenwriter’s forthcoming biopic about the late Apple co-founder, Bale has dropped from the project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bale “came to the conclusion he was not right for the part and decided to withdraw” before negotiations began.

Sony, the studio releasing the film, had no comment on the THR report when contacted by HuffPost Entertainment.

Bale will not be Steve Jobs after all.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Bale becomes the second high-profile star to bail on Sorkin’s film within the last month. Back in October, Leonardo DiCaprio, who had been in talks to play Jobs, pulled himself out of consideration as well.

“We needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range and that’s Chris Bale,” Sorkin said to Bloomberg Television in a recent interview when asked about the Jobs role. “He really is a phenomenal actor.”

It’s unclear who will replace Bale as the lead of the film, but other actors once rumoured included Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Last week, it was also reported that Seth Rogen was in talks to play Steve Wozniak, but that casting has not been confirmed at this time.

Leonardo DiCaprio opted out of the Steve Jobs role as well.

Danny Boyle, meanwhile, is still set to direct the film. He replaced David Fincher, who was initially attached to the project. When Fincher departed back in April, THR noted that he had wanted Bale to play the lead role as well.

This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post.