After lingering around in pre-production for the past few years, the Steve Jobs biopic that was penned by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) is starting to assemble its pieces. Danny Boyle (127 Hours) is sitting in the director’s chair, Christian Bale is donning the black turtleneck, and now Sony is hard at work getting the supporting players locked in.

Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak, so it makes sense for such an instrumental figure to be featured in Boyle’s film in some capacity. Today, we can confirm that is the case, as Seth Rogen (Neighbors) has reportedly signed on to portray Wozniak in Boyle’s take on the late tech icon.


Wozniak, who was played by Josh Gad in last year’s Jobs, designed the Apple I and Apple II computers in the late 1970s, before departing as a full-time employee in 1987. Sorkin’s screenplay is structured as three scenes – each some 30-40 minutes long and playing out in real-time – that cover key tech launches under Jobs’ watch. It stands to reason that Rogen (whose involvement was reported by Variety) will get to shine during the sequence detailing the unveiling of the first Macintosh computer (we’ll have to see about the scenes where the NeXT computer and original iPod are unveiled though).

At first glance, this may seem like an odd casting choice to some, but there’s more to Rogen than being a lovable goofball. In 2011′s 50/50, Rogen used real-life experiences to guide a nuanced, subtle performance. He likewise dialed down his usual clownish antics for his role in Sarah Polley’s marital drama Take This Waltz, that same year.

jessica chastain true detective Seth Rogen Cast in Steve Jobs Biopic; Jessica Chastain Eyed For a Role
Jessica Chastain in ‘Zero Dark Thirty’

In its report, Variety also notes that Oscar-nominee Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) is being eyed by the studio for an unspecified role. With so little information to go off of, it’s hard to say what exactly that might be; however, since Boyle’s film will revolve around major moments in Apple history, Chastain could very well be playing an employee at the company (or someone else entirely). Either way, the Oscar-nominated star of Zero Dark Thirty (who returns to the big screen in Christopher Nolan’s space epic Interstellar next week) would be a welcome addition.

We’ll have to wait for the final product to make an official verdict, but Boyle’s biopic of Jobs is shaping up to be something a little more memorable than the one moviegoers got last year (read our Jobs review). With an award-winning creative team behind the camera and a stellar cast taking shape in front of it, whatever Boyle and Sorkin have cooked up is sure to generate a lot of interest and Oscar consideration… whenever it sees the light of day.

We’ll keep you updated on the untitled Steve Jobs biopic as more information becomes available.