Actor Ike Barinholtz Will Play Elon Musk In Sam Altman OpenAI Movie

By Pune Media On Jul 23, 2025

Topline

Actor Ike Barinholtz is in talks to portray the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, in an upcoming comedy-drama movie that will reportedly center on the brief ousting of billionaire Sam Altman from the helm of OpenAI in 2023.

Elon Musk will reportedly be portrayed in the upcoming film “Artificial.” (Photo by Chip … More Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The upcoming film, “Artificial,” is still in development at Amazon MGM Studios and is expected to shoot later this year with a planned release for 2026, multiple outlets reported.

Actor Ike Barinholtz, who recently scored an Emmy nomination for his role in “The Studio,” is in talks to play Elon Musk in the film, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.

Andrew Garfield is attached to play another billionaire, OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, with actor Yura Borisov also set to play OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever.

Though few details of the plot are known, the film is described as a comedy-drama about the few days between Altman’s firing and re-hiring as OpenAI’s CEO in November 2023.

Luca Guadagnino, known for his films including “Call Me By Your Name” and “Challengers,” is directing the project.

Forbes has reached out to Amazon MGM Studios for comment.

What Do We Know About Musk’s Portrayal In The Film?

Matthew Belloni, entertainment reporter at Puck, claimed he obtained a copy of the “Artificial” script, stating Musk and Altman will “probably hate their portrayals” and that Musk is referred to as a “dictator” at one point in the script. Belloni noted the script is a draft and could change before the movie shoots, but said Musk appears in a few scenes of “villainy and comic relief.” Other billionaires included in the draft, according to Belloni, include former OpenAI vice president of research and current Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, as well as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Why Was Sam Altman Fired From Openai?

Altman, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and was installed as CEO in 2019, was fired from his post on Nov. 17, 2023 by the company’s board, which said it no longer had “confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.” In its statement, the board accused Altman of not being candid with it, though the details surrounding his firing, which was considered a shock, were unclear. The following year, board member Helen Toner, who helped oust Altman, said Altman made the board’s job “really difficult” by “withholding information, misrepresenting things that were happening at the company” and sometimes “outright lying to the board,” alleging he did not inform the board about ChatGPT’s 2022 release. She also claimed two executives said they had endured “psychological abuse” and a “toxic atmosphere” crafted by Altman. Hundreds of employees threatened to quit OpenAI after Altman’s firing, and on Nov. 22, the board announced Altman would be reinstated. Sutskever, who is portrayed in “Artificial,” was reportedly a leader of the effort to remove Altman, though he later expressed regret for the ouster and signed the open letter threatening to quit unless Altman was reinstated.

Has Musk Been Portrayed By Actors Before?

Musk has been parodied multiple times on “Saturday Night Live,” which he lambasted in posts on X. After Dana Carvey tackled Musk in a post-election episode in November, Musk tweeted “SNL” has been “dying slowly for years, as they become increasingly out of touch with reality.” In a separate post, he said “Dana Carvey just sounds like Dana Carvey.” Musk was parodied months later by Mike Myers, prompting the billionaire to post: “SNL hasn’t been funny in a long time. They are their own parody.” Musk hosted “SNL” in 2021, and three years later, cast member Chloe Fineman said he was “rude” on set and made her cry by calling a sketch she had written “not funny.”

Forbes Valuation

Forbes estimates Musk’s net worth at $415 billion as of Wednesday, making him the wealthiest person in the world. He owns about 12% of Tesla and 42% of SpaceX, both of which he co-founded. Altman is worth $1.8 billion, according to Forbes estimates, largely from his investments in Stripe, Reddit and other companies.