'Steve Jobs': 5 Actors Who Played Apple's Co-Founder Before Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender will be the next actor to take on the role of Steve Jobs, in the eponymous biopic to be released later this year. That puts Fassbender in good company. Over the years, the late former Apple CEO has been played by several actors on television and in film.

Some were more serious takes on Jobs, others lighthearted parodies on the co-founder of Apple Inc. From Noah Wyle to Ashton Kutcher, here are the others who have played the iconic tech pioneer:

Noah Wyle - "Pirates of Silicon Valley" (1999)

Noah Wyle, known for his role as Dr. John Carter on NBC's long-running medical drama “E.R.,” took on the role of Steve Jobs in the 1999 TNT movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley,” which depicted the rivalry between Jobs and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Jobs hated the film, Wyle told Fortune. But after seeing it, Jobs asked him to come out that same year to the MacWorld convention in New York to reprise his role, this time as a parody of Jobs in the opening keynote.

Michael McDonald - "MADtv" (2007)

The “MADtv” actor also took on the role of Jobs in a skit of Apple’s product unveiling as a vehicle for some political satire. In the skit, McDonald as Jobs unveils a new product called the “iRack,” a play on words combining Apple’s reputation to unveil devices that start with “i” and the deployment of U.S. troops by then-President George W. Bush to Iraq.

Fred Armisen - "Saturday Night Live" (2007)

In a “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update sketch with Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen took on the role of Jobs to talk about the iPhone, spitting out its countless features. In the punchline at the end of the sketch, he takes a jab at the device's battery life: It only lasts "20 minutes."

Ashton Kutcher - Jobs (2013)

Nearly two years after the death of Jobs, Kutcher played the former Apple CEO in the biopic “Jobs,” depicting his life from 1974 to the unveiling of the iPod in 2001. The film bombed at the box office, pulling in just $6.7 million in the U.S. in its opening weekend, and was panned by the critics from the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets for focusing too much on the company vs. Steve Jobs himself.

Justin Long – "iSteve" (2013)

Months before the release of Kutcher’s “Jobs” biopic, Justin Long, star of Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad campaign, played Jobs in “iSteve,” a mockumentary produced by comedy website Funny or Die. Released as an online film, it was received with mixed reviews from tech blogs, according to Forbes. Wired, meanwhile, had some more choice words for the film in its headline: “This Movie Sucks.”