Aaron Sorkin has revealed that he spent a three-day weekend trying to persuade Jesse Eisenberg to return as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning, even attempting to tempt the actor with a substantial pay increase.
Eisenberg played the Meta chief executive in Sorkin’s 2010 film The Social Network, but declined to reprise the role in the sequel. Jeremy Strong has taken his place as Zuckerberg.
Sorkin said he knew what the studio was offering Eisenberg, but that financial incentives did not appeal to the actor.
“Money does not motivate Jesse. It’s infuriating,” Sorkin told Entertainment Weekly with a laugh. “If anything, money is a disincentive for him. It’s admirable. He’s very concerned about raising his kids with too much money.”
After learning that Eisenberg would still not return despite the increased offer, Sorkin said he drew up a list of projects the actor could fund with the money, including “X number of Broadway plays of his own”. Eisenberg nevertheless turned the proposal down.
Sorkin had kept his work on The Social Reckoning largely private. Shortly before completing the script, he encountered Eisenberg at a party and told him: “I’m gonna be sending you something in a couple of weeks.”
The actor’s response encouraged Sorkin, who said it “never occurred to me that he wouldn’t wanna do it”. He then prepared an outline for a series of conversations, something he said he does not normally do for films, setting out the reasons Eisenberg should accept the role and the moments he would get to play.
Eisenberg reportedly came close to changing his mind during their discussions. “You have come closer to changing my mind than I thought you were going to,” he told Sorkin during the third or fourth exchange.
However, Sorkin said Eisenberg did not want to be associated with Zuckerberg again, despite liking the script.
“He just doesn’t like being conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore,” Sorkin said. “He doesn’t like that he kinda resembles the guy physically; that role is probably what he’s most known for.”
The Social Reckoning is due to be released on October 9.
