Actor Christian Bale will play late Apple CEO Steve Jobs in an upcoming film that traces the technology mogul’s rise from a college dropout to business icon.
The role will require a certain brashness, despondence and elation in keeping with the trajectory of Jobs’ careers. It is just one example of Hollywood’s long obsession with portraying the machinations of business leaders on-screen.
Fortune decided to take a look at some other stars that have played real executives from the corporate world. Here’s some of the top examples.
1. Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs
Ashton Kutcher of "That 70's Show" fame played the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs in the 2013 film "Jobs." But the comedy man was met with some pushback from those close to Jobs. Co-founder Steve Wozniak, for example, was not impressed. "I had such high hopes for this movie and, oh, it was so hard to say that it let me down a bit and it fell a bit flat," he told ABC News.
2. Edward Asner as Warren Buffett
Edward Asner played the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, in the 2011 film "Too Big to Fail" about the 2008 financial crisis. It was a packed cast of big name stars. The celebrity-as-CEOs list included Matthew Modine as Merrill Lynch CEO John Thane and Bill Pullman as JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon. Asner seemed more than glad to take on his role. "To play a national icon like Warren Buffett and to work with [director] Curtis Hanson, I leaped at the chance. The role is not prepossessing, but it’s my first time on HBO, so I liked that. I really respect them," he told Entertainment Weekly.
3. Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg
Jesse Eisenberg earned himself an Oscar nomination for his role as Mark Zuckerberg in the film "The Social Network," which is loosely based on Facebook's (FB) early days. The two met face-to-face for the first time on the set off "Saturday Night Live," naturally. According to People, the meeting went a little like this: Eisenberg asked Zuckerberg, "Did you ever end up seeing the film ... What did you think?" to which the CEO responded that he thought "it was interesting."
4. Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort
Leonardo DiCaprio played Jordan Belfort in "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), which is based on a stockbroker's memoir about running a firm engaged in securities fraud during the '90s. The Martin Scorsese-directed film earned five Academy Award nominations. In a interview, DiCaprio said he didn't chicken out about portraying Belfort's less-than-savory lifestyle. "It was all me," he said. "There were no doubles. Hey, man, I’m playing a modern-day Roman emperor and I’m going to play the hell out of this guy, and anything goes."
5. James Garner as F. Ross Johnson
In the 1993 film "Barbarians at the Gate," James Garner played F. Ross Johnson, the CEO of the tobacco and food giant RJR Nabisco, which underwent one of the biggest leveraged buyouts at the time. The film, an adaption of a 1989 book by investigative reporters Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, was a made-for-TV movie by HBO. Garner passed away earlier this year and is best known for his television roles in "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files."
