Steve Jobs is the man on the big screen

Hollywood can't get enough of Steve Jobs. The Apple co-founder and tech revolutionary will command the big screen twice before 2015 ends.

Alex Gibney's new documentary, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, opens Friday (in theaters and on-demand), followed by Michael Fassbender's much-anticipated starring role as Steve Jobs (Oct. 9).

The frequent return to the icon, who died in 2011 of pancreatic cancer, doesn't surprise director Martyn Burke, whose TNT movie Pirates of Silicon Valley focused on a young Jobs.

"Jobs was truly a Shakespearean figure. He was mercurial, conspiratorial, volcanic — he was cruel and kind," says Burke. "So people continue to be fascinated with him."

Here's how that fascination has played out onscreen:

Noah Wyle in 'Pirates of Silicon Valley' (1999)

The ER star was a dead ringer for Jobs in a well-received performance alongside Anthony Michael Hall as Microsoft's Bill Gates.

"I was trying to get the two sides of Steve Jobs — the charismatic and the terrifying. He could turn on a dime," says Burke.

Jobs defused the sometimes-critical portrayal by inviting Wyle to the podium of 1999's New York Macworld convention, clad in his signature black turtleneck.

"The audience was momentarily stunned, and then broke into laughter as Jobs came out and coached Noah how to be him more accurately," says Burke.

Jobs said onstage that Wyle was a "better me than me."

Ashton Kutcher in 'Jobs' (2013)

Kutcher was critically ripped for his performance, but there was no denying the physical likeness.

"Someone put my picture up next to (Jobs) online and I was like, 'Whoa, that's kind of weird,' " Kutcher told USA TODAY in 2013.

Kutcher ran into "severe issues" when he tried to copy Jobs' fruitarian diet, which landed him in hospital with pancreatic problems just before filming. He still required heavy painkillers at the script table read.

"It was awful, I could barely sit in my chair," said Kutcher, who modified the diet.

Steve Jobs in 'The Man in the Machine' (Sept. 4)

Gibney became fascinated with Jobs as he observed the worldwide outpouring of grief following the icon's death.

"It was like, 'Why is everybody so torn up over this figure?' " says Gibney. "It began a mystery that the film was supposed to solve."

Despite being blocked by Apple and Jobs' widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, Gibney spoke to Jobs' friends and associates and used frequent clips of Jobs himself to serve as "a de facto narrator."

"That's important, because his greatest gift was as a storyteller. In many ways, we let Steve Jobs tell his own story," says Gibney. "No one is as good at playing Steve Jobs as Steve Jobs."

Michael Fassbender in 'Steve Jobs' (Oct. 9)

Christian Bale dropped out of playing Jobs in 2014, making way for Fassbender in this anticipated biopic based on Walter Isaacson's definitive biography Steve Jobs.

The Oscar-caliber team includes Aaron Sorkin (screenplay) and Danny Boyle (directing), while Seth Rogen stars as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Even Gibney is excited for the full unveiling.

"It's interesting that the portrayal of Steve Jobs has gone through the years, from Noah Wyle to Michael Fassbender," says Gibney. "That tells you something. Fassbender brings a very different edge."