Noah Wyle to play Steve Jobs

A ctor Noah Wyle, best known for playing the sexy doctor John Carter in the multiple Emmy award-winning American medical drama TV series ER, is back on the tube for the Indian audience. And, this time, he’s fighting aliens in his latest alien-drama, Falling Skies.

“ER is something I will be forever grateful for. ER was a life-changing experience for me… Everything that could happen to a man, happened to me during that period of time,” says the 40-year-old actor, talking to us on the phone from Los Angeles.

In the Steven Spielberg-produced series, Wyle plays Tom Mason, a history professor. So, what drew him to the show? “It appealed to me for several reasons —its short seasons and the fact that I had never worked on science fiction before,” he says. On working with Spielberg, Wyle says, “It was fantastic. It was great to see his involvement in every strata of our production.”

For a while now, there’s been news of screenplay writer Aaron Sorkin penning a script for a biopic on the life of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The buzz has it that Wyle and his ER co-star George Clooney are top contenders to play Jobs in the movie, but Wyle says it’s all just online chatter. “I haven’t been approached for any such film,” he says, adding that it’d be an honour to play Jobs and if approached for the role, his answer would be a yes. In the past, the actor has had an unforgettable association with Jobs. He played Steve Jobs in the 1999 docudrama, Pirates of Silicon Valley.

“Mr Jobs called me up after seeing the film, and complimented me for my performance. He invited me to impersonate him at the Macworld Convention in New York, which I did,” Wyle says, adding: “We then went out for dinner. It’s a memory I’ve revisited many times.” Falling Skies starts today at 10pm on AXN channel.

On visiting India
I’ve been told that visiting India is a life-changing experience. I’ve been waiting for long to go there. I’d also love to visit India for its amazing food

On working in a Bollywood film
I don’t sing or dance so well, but it will be wonderful to act in a Bollywood film

On Steve Jobs
I feel honoured to have known a man who will be remembered as one of the premier inventors and great thinkers of all times
fact file

Full name: Noah Strausser Speer Wyle
Born on: June 4, 1971 (Age: 40)
Known for: Lust in the Dust, ER, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear and A Few Good Men, among others
Upcoming project: Falling Skies
Spouse: Tracy Warbin (2000–present; filed for divorce)