Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 06:56 pm

jOBS biopic fills key roles as casting nears completion

By AppleInsider Staff

The cast of the upcoming "jOBS" indie biopic, which has already started principal photography, is filling out as Kevin Dunn, J.K. Simmons and four more sign on to play co-starring roles opposite Ashton Kutcher's portrayal of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

According to the Hollywood Reporter Kevin Dunn, who gained notoriety as the father of Shia LaBeouf's character in the "Transformers" series, will play former Apple CEO Gil Amelio.

Another veteran actor, J.K. Simmons of NBC's "Law & Order" and HBO's "Oz" as well as the big-screen's "Spiderman" and "Juno," is set to take on the role of venture capitalist and Apple investor Arthur Rock.

Also joining the project is Elden Henson who will play original Mac development team member Andy Hertzfeld while Giles Matthey is set to portray Apple Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Sir Jonathan Ive. Lenny Jacobson and Victor Rasuk have also signed on to play Mac developer Burrell Smith and Apple's first employee Bill Fernandez, respectively.


The newly-announced members enter into a production already full of big-name talent like Matthew Modine and Ahna O'Reilly. Modine will be former Apple CEO John Sculley, the executive many recognize as being the man who "fired" Jobs from his own company in 1985. Playing the lead female role of Chris-Ann Brennan, Jobs' ex-girlfriend and mother to his daughter Lisa, is O'Reilly who comes off her latest project "The Help." Broadway star Josh Gad is pegged as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.


"jOBS" is being led by "Swing Vote" director Joshua Michael Stern jOBS and has started principal filming at Jobs' old Los Altos, Calif. home where the first Apple computer was built. The film will chronicle the tech guru's "30 most defining years" from 1971 to the early 2000s.

The indie film will be followed by a relatively big-budget adaptation of Walter Isaacson's official biography written for the screen by "The Social Network" scribe Aaron Sorkin and produced by Sony. A report from May claimed that the production retained the services of Wozniak to "tutor" cast and crew on the specifics of Apple culture.