Long before Michael Fassbender and Ashton Kutcher went to the mouse mat to offer their best iterations of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, award-winning lead of “The Pitt” (and forgotten sci-fi gem “Falling Skies”) Noah Wyle took a bite out of the innovator’s life in the 1999 film “Pirates of Silicon Valley.” Directed by Martyn Burke (co-writer of classic spoof, “Top Secret!”) the television movie followed the rivalry that developed between Jobs and Microsoft CEO, Bill Gates, who was played here by Anthony Michael Hall. Supporting talent included Joey Slotnick (“A League of Their Own,” “Twister”), who took on the role of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
While it might not have gained as much attention as both the Danny Boyle-directed film “Steve Jobs” or Ashton Kutcher in “Jobs,” “Pirates of Silicon Valley” actually earned an impressive reaction from critics. In the rankings of biopics that shone a spotlight on the technological innovator, the Wyle-starring movie has a Rotten Tomatoes score that’s ahead of both films that got a wider release. Kutcher’s “Jobs” earned only 27% on the review aggregator site, whereas the Danny Boyle-directed film starring Michael Fassbender has an impressive 85%, even after being a box-office bomb. Storming ahead of both, however, is “Pirates of Silicon Valley” with 89%. But while the high ranking is undoubtedly something to be proud of, Wyle has an edge that the others don’t. He was actually present for a groundbreaking moment in Apple’s history.
Noah Wyle was present for the birth of the iPad
While Kutcher and Fassbender never met Steve Jobs, Wyle was able to do so, even some time after walking in his shoes. Speaking to Fortune about embodying the role in Burke’s film, Wyle revealed that he took his wife out to dinner to meet Jobs, along with a small squad of designers, when a lightbulb moment occurred. “At a certain point in the meal, out of nowhere, he turned to his designers and said, ‘You know what I want to make?’ And they all snapped their heads around and replied, ”What, Steve? What, Steve?'”
From here, the Apple boss began discussing a picture frame “where the picture’s not a picture, but a little movie of the kid swinging the bat and hitting the ball. Can we do that?” According to Wyle, Jobs then began to sketch out on a napkin the earliest concept for what would become the iPad, which, according to the actor, was a hit at the table. “They all approved the design – nobody touched it, there were no changes or suggestions.”
Once dinner was over, Wyle tried to be crafty and snatch the doodle that would go on to become one of the most groundbreaking tech items in history, only to be called away by Jobs. “So I put the napkin down. I could have had an Edison original.” While he might’ve missed out on taking such an important bit of technological memorabilia home, it’s quite a story for Wyle.
