20 Movies That Took HUGE Risks (And NAILED It)

The easiest way to sink any biopic is to whiff the casting, and many immediately questioned Michael Fassbender's casting in Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs.

Given that Fassbender neither looked nor sounded much like the real Apple co-founder, it seemed like his casting would prove immediately immersion-breaking for many.

It didn't help that Christian Bale - who bears far more of a physical resemblance to Jobs - was originally in talks to play the part, and by comparison Fassbender, for all his talent, just seemed lesser-suited.

But Boyle and Fassbender were ultimately vindicated when Steve Jobs turned out to be a highly illuminating biopic, with Fassbender going on to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

While many reviews admitted that Fassbender's physical and spoken resemblance to Jobs was far from perfect, clearly he and Boyle were far more interested in capturing the man's spirit rather than focusing on an act of mimicry. 

In that respect they passed with flying colours, even if the casting might've partially contributed to the film's box office failure.