Ashton Kutcher is the man to play Steve Jobs: 5 reasons why

Steve Jobs, the man who made electronics cool and reformed several industries along the way, has left an incredible legacy. Following his death two movie studios have been aggressively working on biopics, of which the first is to be released next month (August). Surely for a character as prolific as Jobs, you’d expect three time Oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis to don the black skivvy, or someone with the gravitas thereof.

But they picked Ashton Kutcher, of the pot-centric That 70s Show. It's forgivable to reject the notion Kutcher could deliver any justice to Jobs, but in the wake of the latest Jobs trailer, we've compiled a few reasons why we believe he might be able to pull the feat off.

1. Kutcher is active in many industries, including the technology sector. Jobs just didn’t make computers, he changed industries. By biographer Walter Isaacson’s count, Jobs “revolutionised six industries: personal computer, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.”

Ashton Kutcher has his hands in almost as many industries. He started off as a model, found fame as an actor and has produced several television shows, most notably Beauty and a Geek USA and Punk’d. 

Beyond his Hollywood exploits, he has invested in several tech companies, such as Skype and 4Square. Additionally he was the first user on Twitter to amass more than a million followers; an indication he recognises the power technology plays in everyday communication.

Also on Kutcher’s resume is a co-founder credit for starting up the human rights organisation “THORN: Digital Defenders of Children.” The organisation focuses on the role technology plays in exploitation crimes, such as paedophilic sex.

2.  A 35 year old Ashton Kutcher looks a lot like Steve Jobs. Perhaps it is most evident in this photo of Ashton juxtaposed alongside one of Jobs. 

You may be thinking "Yeah, but he'd look nothing like an old Steve Jobs." Well think again. 

3.  Ashton actually understands the enigma that is Steve Jobs. Most people would consider a tech Titan like Jobs to be a man of science alone, but that’s far from the truth. Jobs took psychedelic drugs, was largely spiritual and often turned to music as a form of expression. In fact, Jobs considered himself a man of the humanities before a man of the sciences:

“I always thought of myself as a humanities person as a kid, but I liked electronics,” Jobs said in an interview with biographer Isaacson.

“Then I read something that one of my heroes, Edwin Land of Polaroid, said about the importance of people who could stand at the intersection of humanities and sciences, and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”

If an actor fails to recognise how Jobs harmonised the Arts and the Sciences, then they would’ve failed to capture the core of his essence. Fortunately Kutcher is an artist drawn to technology. It doesn’t feel like he needs to fabricate this harmony as much as bring it to the surface.

Kutcher took to Quora to explain his motivations for wanting to portray Jobs. In his post, he says:

“It was a perfect convergence in my craft and my interests. I've spent the last 5 years working with early stage technology companies as an investor and advisor. Whenever you take on a role, it's like a crash course in the subject matter of the film. So while researching the role I was able to spend countless hours studying tech design, product, and history.

“It also afforded me the opportunity to meet with several of Steve's peers who happen to be icons of the tech world.

4.  Not only does Ashton understand Jobs, but he respects him and his legacy. The first reason Ashton lists in his Quora post is:

“I care. As I read the script I had a knot in my stomach. I imagined actors playing the role and not connecting to the love that went into some of the seemingly irrational decisions that Steve sometimes made. If this film becomes an enduring memory, of a man I admire, I wanted to ensure that it was portrayed by someone who cared about his legacy and took the time to represent him in a way that people who were close to Steve felt to be authentic.”

5. Even if he ends up in hospital, Kutcher is prepared to do Jobs justice. Recently Kutcher revealed he adopted Jobs' fruitarian diet only to end up in hospital two days before shooting began. 

"First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to, like, some severe issues," Kutcher told Mashable at the Sundance Film Festival. "I ended up in 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, which was really terrifying ... considering everything."

Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in 2011.

As it stands Kutcher is playing the underdog card. Let’s hope he uses the element of surprise to his advantage and captivates audiences in the same way Jobs commanded the attention of people all over the world. Jobs will be released on August 29th, 2013 in Australia.

By Tony Ibrahim

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