Ashton Kutcher Ate Grapes, Not Apples, to Prepare for ‘Jobs’

To play Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Ashton Kutcher reportedly employed method acting and wouldn’t break character off set, and even followed the late billionaire’s fruitarian diet.

“He went on a fruitarian diet. I went on a cheeseburger diet,” joked co-star Josh Gad, who plays Jobs’ business partner Steve Wozniak. “The toll was a lot harder on him than it was on me.”

Kutcher and Gad, on hand for Open Road’s premiere at L.A. Live Aug. 13, reflected on Jobs’ success and business acumen. Director Joshua Michael Stern believes that Hollywood could learn a lesson from Jobs’ clarity of vision and commitment to ideas which grew Apple into the most valuable company ever, especially in light of the recent summer box office bombs.

“In some regards there are a lot of fear-driven models in Hollywood. They are trying to figure out the right balance of demographic,” Stern said. “Steve basically said you have to do something you believe in, regardless of whether you think it is going to track well.”

Kutcher also channeled some of Jobs’ Zen Buddhist philosophy and sought enlightenment. “The most valuable thing I did was I willing to admit I probably didn’t know how to do this. I found an acting coach that helped me do it,” he said. “Sometimes when you have the humility to admit you don’t know what you are doing, you can find somebody to teach you that maybe you actually did.”

While Gad gave Kutcher props for being “probably the best scene partner I have ever had,” he did let slip one criticism of Kutcher’s approach: “He was grumpy the first couple of days because he was only eating grapes.”

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