Leonardo DiCaprio Decides Not to Star in Steve Jobs Biopic

Leonardo DiCapriohas removed himself from contention to play Apple co-founder Steve Jobsin an upcoming, Danny Boyle-directed biopic. According toThe Hollywood Reporter, DiCaprio who had recently been in talks for the part has bowed out in order to focus on his starring role inAlejandro Gonzlez IrritusThe Revenant, a western-thriller based in parton the life of legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass. After shooting that film, which is expected to hit theaters in 2015, DiCaprio reportedly plans to take a lengthy hiatus from acting.

The Jobs biopic is being adapted by acclaimed writer Aaron Sorkinfrom Walter Issacsons 2011 book,Steve Jobs, which was published the month of Jobs death and tells the tech pioneers story through interviews with co-workers, rivals, friends and family.

Given the high-profile and controversial character at its core, the project has been highly anticipated. But itsfaced a number of personnel challenges since Sony first optioned the film in 2011. David Fincher was previously in consideration to direct, but asThe Hollywood Reporter revealed back in April,he walked away from the job following disagreements over compensation and marketing control. According toTHR, Sony is now drafting a shortlist of possible contenders to replace DiCaprio including Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooperand Ben Affleck.

Last year, Ashton Kutcher stunned critics with his unexpectedly dramatic turn as the Apple titan inJobs. Its a quietly dazzling performance, wrote Rolling Stones Peter Travers in his review, though he called the film itself a decidedly mixed bag.