Steve Jobs Stars as FDR in Lost Apple Video
Steve Jobs may have been a tech visionary, but if this long-lost nine-minute film from 1984 is any indication, his acting skills left a bit to be desired. In the video, Jobs plays none other than the 32nd president of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (Yes, you read that right.)
Created as a spoof of Apple’s iconic ’1984′ Super Bowl ad and meant to inspire Apple’s international sales force at a corporate retreat in Hawaii, the film, which is set during World War II, depicts Jobs as FDR exhorting his sales force to win a battle against then-competitor IBM.
“General, you and your brave fighting force have a rendezvous with destiny,” says Jobs, while wearing wire-rimmed glasses and grasping a cigarette holder. “Your battle will be long. It will be hard, but it will be won. I’m sure your victory will be great. Insanely great.”
The film, which reportedly cost $50,000 to make and was unearthed by Paul McNamara of Network World, is almost too impossibly weird to describe. But we’ll sum it all up in one word — cornball. Watch Jobs’ cameo above and the full video below.