Christian Bale, the Oscar-winning actor who signed up to play Steve Jobs in Danny Boyle's forthcoming movie, has withdrawn from the project after coming to the conclusion that he wasn't right for the part. Writer Aaron Sorkin had announced Boyle for the role a couple of weeks ago, saying they needed "the best actor."

Christian BaleChristian Bale has pulled out of the Jobs movie

The Sony project is being produced by Scott Rudin, Guymon Casady and Mark Gordon and was on track for shooting this fall for a quick turnaround. A fall 2015 release date was eyed, to catch the attention of the Academy.

Boyle is due in the U.S this week to meet with actors and actresses for the movie, including Seth Rogen, who is in discussions to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. It is likely that Boyle will also be meeting potential replacements for Bale.

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Sources say the actor, after much deliberation and conflicting feelings, came to the conclusion that he was not the right man to play Jobs and decided to withdraw, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"We needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range and that's Chris Bale," Sorkin told Bloomberg, "He didn't have to audition. Well, there was a meeting."

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Leonardo DiCaprio has initially agreed to take the role before Bale, though pulled out of the project in favour of shooting The Revenant. 

The Jobs movie will not be a straight biopic, instead being divided into three long scenes that detail three of Jobs' famous product launch presentations. 

The internet has been alive with rumours of Bale's replacement, with Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson and Benedict Cumberbatch the most common suggestions. 

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