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17 actors who transformed into real-life tech company CEOs and founders

20 October 2026 at 20:50
elizabeth holmes and amanda seyfried
Elizabeth Holmes (and Amanda Seyfried's portrayal of her) is back in the news.

A24; Hulu

  • Amanda Seyfried is making headlines for again playing Elizabeth Holmes in "You Can See Everything."
  • Seyfried first played the Theranos founder in the Hulu series "The Dropout."
  • She's part of a growing class of actors who've taken part in the latest trend: playing tech moguls.

We've all heard of musician and actor biopics — now, it's all about the stories of tech CEOs.

These days, startup founders can be just as famous (or infamous) as any other celebrity, and the dramatic lives they've lived in business or at home make great fodder for TV and film.

To play these figures, some of the best-known actors had to ditch their signature looks to take on Steve Jobs' turtleneck and wire-frame glasses, Elizabeth Holmes' red lipstick and frizzy blowout, or SBF's signature curls.

Here are 17 celebrities who transformed to play some of Silicon Valley's most prominent figures.

Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes in 'The Dropout' and 'You Can See Everything'
amanda seyfried and elizabeth holmes

Hulu; David Orrell/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/ Getty Images

In the 2022 Hulu limited series "The Dropout, Seyfried played Holmes from her time at Stanford in 2003 (when she did the titular dropping out) through the fall of her company, Theranos, after The Wall Street Journal's 2015 exposé.

Theranos purported to manufacture a device that could do a litany of blood tests from a single finger prick, but, infamously, it did not work as promised. In 2022, Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of defrauding investors.

Four years after the Hulu series, comedian and documentarian Nathan Fielder asked Seyfried to once again play Holmes in some reenactments he wanted to do in his doc about her final days before prison, "You Can See Everything." We won't say much else besides that you need to see it to believe everything that goes down.

Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman in 'Artificial'
andrew garfield as sam altman; sam altman

Neon; Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TIME

"After the Hunt" wasn't enough for Garfield and director Luca Guadagnino — the two have since teamed up to tell the story of OpenAI CEO and cofounder Altman.

"Artificial," which is set for release in select theaters on Christmas Day, will focus on Altman's 2023 firing by cofounder Ilya Sutskever (Yura Borisov) and subsequent rehiring one week later.

Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Reckoning'
jeremy strong and mark zuckerberg

Sony Pictures Releasing; David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

"Succession" star Jeremy Strong played the Facebook founder in "The Social Reckoning," a film about the release of Facebook Files, a staggering number of internal documents leaked by whistleblower and employee Frances Haugen and published by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, and the subsequent congressional scrutiny that followed.

The film, released in October 2026, was written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter of "The Social Network," making this something of a sequel to the 2010 classic.

Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Network'
jesse eisenberg and mark zuckerberg

Sony Pictures Releasing; Adam Berry/Bloomberg/Getty Images

"The Social Reckoning" wasn't the first time Zuckerberg has been portrayed on screen — most famously, Eisenberg played the founder in "The Social Network," which chronicled the earliest days of Facebook, back when it still had a "the" in front of it.

It juxtaposes the wild, early days of the website with two lawsuits Zuckerberg settled a few years later: one from cofounder Eduardo Saverin and another from his Harvard classmates, the Winklevoss twins.

Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker in 'The Social Network'
justin timberlake and sean parker

Sony Pictures Releasing; Ramin Talaie/Corbis/Getty Images

The other famous "disruptor" portrayed in "The Social Network" is Parker, one of the cofounders of Napster, the original music streaming platform. He's played by Timberlake in a career-best performance.

Parker comes in as an early believer and executive at Facebook, which ruffles the feathers of cofounder Eduardo Saverin.

Anthony Boyle as Sam Bankman-Fried in 'The Altruists'
anthony boyle and sam bankman fried

Netflix; Craig Barritt/Getty Images for CARE For Special Children

Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, will get the biopic-miniseries treatment this November on Netflix in a series titled "The Altruists."

Bankman-Fried co-founded the crypto trading firm Alameda Research in 2017 and later co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2019.

After making millions, FTX collapsed in 2022, and Bankman-Fried was eventually convicted of several crimes, including fraud and money laundering, in 2024. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

SBF's onetime girlfriend and former CEO of the FTX-affiliated trading firm Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, will also be in the show, portrayed by Julia Garner.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Travis Kalanick in 'Super Pumped'
joseph gordon levitt and travis kalanick

Showtime; D Dipasupil/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Gordon-Levitt played Uber cofounder and former CEO Kalanick in "Super Pumped," a 2022 Showtime limited series. It focuses on the rise of Kalanick and his eventual fall from power, culminating in his 2017 resignation from the company.

Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs in 'Jobs'
ashton kutcher and steve jobs

Open Road Films; Tom Munnecke/Getty Images

The first mention of Jobs on this list goes to Kutcher, who played the Apple founder in the 2013 biopic "Jobs." It traces his career from Apple's founding in 1976 to the introduction of the first iPod in 2001.

Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs in 'Steve Jobs'
michael fassbender and steve jobs

Universal Pictures; William STEVENS/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Two years after "Jobs," the late founder was portrayed again on screen, this time by Michael Fassbender in "Steve Jobs."

Instead of a standard cradle-to-grave biopic, "Steve Jobs" checks in with the enigmatic figure at three different points in his career: first in 1984, before the introduction of the first Apple Macintosh computer; second, in 1988, when Jobs is the head of a new company, NeXT, and is preparing to launch its first computer; and finally, in 1998, as Jobs gears up to release the iMac.

Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs in 'Pirates of Silicon Valley'
noah wyle and steve jobs

TNT; Matthew NAYTHONS/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

In 1999, the TV movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley" aired, starring Wyle as the Apple founder. It chronicles Jobs' career from the '70s to the '90s, from the founding of Apple to his return as CEO.

Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates in 'Pirates of Silicon Valley'
anthony michael hall and bill gates

TNT; Doug Wilson/CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images

The other half of the "Pirates of Silicon Valley" narrative focuses on Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft. He's played by "Breakfast Club" star Anthony Michael Hall.

The film's climax is based on the real-life falling out Gates and Jobs had in 1985, when Jobs felt that Gates had ripped off Apple.

Jared Leto as Adam Neumann in 'WeCrashed'
jared leto and adam neumann

Apple TV+; Cindy Ord/Getty Images for WeWork

Leto physically transformed to play the WeWork CEO and cofounder in the 2022 Apple TV+ miniseries "WeCrashed." The show chronicled the immense success the coworking startup experienced in its early days in 2010, all the way through its disastrous attempted IPO in 2019.

Anne Hathaway as Rebekah Paltrow Neumann in 'WeCrashed'
anne hathaway and Rebekah Neumann

Apple TV+; Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Time

Hathaway costarred in "WeCrashed" as Neumann's wife, Rebekah Paltrow Neumann, who was heavily involved in WeWork. She was, however, "an unpredictable and unmistakable presence" at the company, per Business Insider's reporting.

Jay Baruchel as Mike Lazaridis in 'BlackBerry'
Jay Baruchel and Mike Lazaridis

Elevation Pictures; Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

The creation of the BlackBerry, one of the earliest smartphones, was dramatized in "BlackBerry," which starred Baruchel as one of the cofounders of RIM (the brand behind the phone) and one of the cocreators of the BlackBerry itself, Lazaridis.

The film begins with Lazaridis and his partner teaming up with Jim Balsillie (more on him later) to make BlackBerry the most popular smartphone in the world — only for its reign to end with the iPhone.

Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie in 'BlackBerry'
Glenn Howerton and Jim Balsillie

Elevation Pictures; Xabier Mikel Laburu/Bloomberg/Getty Images

RIM really got off the ground when Mike Lazaridis and his cofounder Doug Fregin were approached by Balsillie. According to the movie's telling, Balsillie offered to invest $20,000 for a 50% stake in the company, and was eventually sold a 33% stake for $125,000 and the title of co-CEO.

The less we say about Howerton's performance, the better — it really must be seen to be believed.

Lily James as Whitney Wolfe Herd in 'Swiped'
Lily James and Whitney Wolfe Herd

Hulu; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

2025's "Swiped" is the story of the creation of Bumble through the eyes of its founder, Herd. Originally, she was a cofounder of Tinder, but resigned in 2014, and eventually received an out-of-court settlement after suing Tinder for sexual discrimination and sexual harassment, without either Tinder or its parent company, IAC, admitting to wrongdoing.

After leaving Tinder, Herd wanted to create an app that focused on female empowerment, and thus, Bumble, a dating app where women have to make the first move, was born.

Sebastian Stan as Vlad Tenev in 'Dumb Money'
Sebastian Stan and Vlad Tenev

Columbia Pictures; Kimberly White/Getty Images for Robinhood

In 2023's "Dumb Money," which is about the "Gamestonk" GameStop short squeeze and subsequent drama that happened in 2021, led by the Reddit community r/WallStreetBets and one user in particular, Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, Stan has a small role.

He plays Robinhood cofounder and CEO, Tenev. During the events of the film, Tenev directs Robinhood, an e-trading platform and investment app, to stop allowing users to buy certain stocks and options (including GameStop), which caused an uproar.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Meta recusa pedido federal para criar canal de proteção a jornalistas

Logo Agência Brasil

Dona do Instagram, do Facebook, do WhatsApp e de outras plataformas digitais e redes sociais, a empresa de tecnologia Meta se negou a criar um canal direto para receber denúncias de ameaças, assédio, ataques digitais, bloqueios e suspensão de contas de jornalistas, comunicadores e veículos de comunicação.

A criação de um canal para o encaminhamento e acompanhamento de casos urgentes foi solicitada pelo Observatório da Violência Contra Jornalistas e Comunicadores Sociais (Observatório), órgão vinculado ao Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública e responsável por monitorar e apoiar as investigações das denúncias envolvendo comunicadores sociais.

Notícias relacionadas:

Em nota, o observatório informou que agiu motivado pelos “recorrentes relatos de bloqueios, suspensões e outras restrições envolvendo jornalistas, comunicadores e veículos de comunicação”, mas que a Meta, ao negar o pedido, alegou a “complexidade técnica, jurídica e operacional” da medida.

“[A empresa] afirmou que o mecanismo poderia representar a “assunção [aceitação] de novas obrigações regulatórias”, revelou o observatório.

O órgão acrescentou que a Meta argumentou também que a análise do pedido exigiria um prazo maior, compatível com a complexidade do tema, e que suas políticas se aplicam a todos os usuários, igualmente, de forma que, para a Meta, os canais gerais já disponíveis são suficientes.

A reportagem da Agência Brasil entrou em contato com a assessoria da Meta, que respondeu que a empresa não vai comentar o assunto.

Violência Digital

Em nota, as secretarias de Justiça (Senajus) e de Direitos Digitais (Sedigi) do Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública e a Secretaria de Políticas Digitais (SPDGI) da Secretaria de Comunicação Social da Presidência da República destacaram que foram registrados 14.182 ataques digitais contra jornalistas e veículos de comunicação durante o primeiro turno, segundo a Coalizão em Defesa do Jornalismo.

Além disso, a organização CTRL+Z reuniu 1.121 relatos de restrições a contas e conteúdos políticos, incluindo bloqueios e remoções sem justificativa específica.

“Os levantamentos expõem duas ameaças ao debate público: a escalada da violência contra quem produz informação e a falta de transparência nas decisões que podem restringir sua circulação, com potencial impacto no legítimo exercício da liberdade de expressão”, apontam as secretarias.

O texto divulgado reforça a “necessidade de mecanismos específicos e permanentes de proteção a jornalistas, comunicadores e veículos de comunicação no ambiente digital”, para além do período eleitoral.

“Os canais gerais da Meta e a cooperação com a Justiça Eleitoral não substituem um mecanismo de proteção capaz de responder a situações urgentes de violência contra jornalistas, inclusive fora do período eleitoral”, insistiu o ministério.

A pasta ressalta que ataques e restrições ao exercício do jornalismo “ultrapassam a esfera individual e podem comprometer o direito de toda a sociedade à informação”.

Manifestantes acusam Meta de favorecer Flávio Bolsonaro

20 October 2026 at 07:51
"Meta, não se meta" era a palavra de ordem entoada pelos manifestantes, frente ao edifício que alberga o escritório da Meta. Campanha de Lula acusa a tecnológica norte-americana de favorecer rival.

© ISAAC FONTANA/EPA

Manifestantes concentraram-se no famoso centro financeiro da capital paulista, Faria Lima, segurando faixas e cartazes com fotografias do dono da Meta, Mark Zuckerberg

La justicia electoral de Brasil da 24 horas a Meta para demostrar que trata igual a Lula y a Bolsonaro

19 October 2026 at 23:46

Al Tribunal Superior Electoral de Brasil se le está acabando la paciencia con el gigante tecnológico Meta y los inescrutables entresijos de su funcionamiento. Un juez del TSE le ha dado 24 horas a la tecnológica propietaria de Instagram, WhatsApp y Facebook para que demuestre al tribunal que sus algoritmos y su inteligencia artificial dan un trato igual a los dos candidatos, al presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, del izquierdista Partido de los Trabajadores, y al senador Flávio Bolsonaro, del derechista Partido Liberal. La decisión judicial fue dictada el domingo por la noche cuando los presidenciables protagonizaban su primer debate.

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© Andre Penner (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Una protesta ante la sede de Meta en São Paulo, este lunes. La pancarta dice: "Brasil decide sobre Brasil".
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