Actor Christian Bale is in talks to play Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin, sources
tell Variety. The movie is based on Walter Isaacson's popular biography, which was released just weeks after Jobs died in 2011 and featured rare, previously-unheard information gleaned through Jobs' cooperation. Bale is best known for movies such as
Empire of the Sun,
The Dark Knight, and
American Psycho.
Leonardo DiCaprio -- the star of movies like
Inception and
The Wolf of Wall Street -- was recently said to have been considering the role. He passed on it, however, in order to take a break from acting.
The movie is being made under the aegis of Sony, which secured Sorkin for scriptwriting duties before picking up other cast and crew. The script uses an unusual structure consisting of just three scenes, each of which is set backstage before a product launch. The first involves the Mac, the second NeXT, and the final one the iPod.