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Best known for his breakout role on That ’70s Show, Ashton Kutcher has made a name in Hollywood for both his acting and producing skills. While every actor’s preparation for a role is different, Kutcher took his role as Steve Jobs in 2013 very seriously by fully immersing himself in the tech leader’s life. This included changing to Jobs’ fruitarian diet months before filming, which landed Kutcher in the ER twice. While many disapproved of Kutcher’s strict method acting approach to becoming Jobs on-screen, his wife, Mila Kunis, was very vocal about her thoughts on his “dumb” restrictive diet change. In fact, Kunis recently opened up again about Ashton Kutcher’s medical mishaps while preparing for his Jobs role. 

Kutcher went to great lengths to prepare for his role in ‘Jobs’

Released in 2013, Jobs was a biopic about the entrepreneur and tech visionary’s life. The film followed the story of Apple co-founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, from the company’s beginnings to the launch of the iPod in 2001. While Jobs had a large following for his world-changing innovative company, the movie Jobs did not have as much success as the tech company. Even Kutcher’s dedication to learning everything about Jobs’ personal and professional life was not enough to make a big splash at the box office

Kutcher’s high interest in the tech space made playing the Apple co-founder seem like a perfect fit. He went all-in with the portrayal by studying all about Jobs, from his voice to his mannerisms to his walk to his strict diet. Kutcher even started a fruit-only diet as he prepared for the film, but it did not go without consequences.

The actor opened up about the severe issues that the fruitarian diet can cause on the night of the film’s premiere. “I went to the hospital like two days before we started shooting the movie. I was like doubled over in pain,” he said, according to USA Today. “My pancreas levels were completely out of whack. It was really terrifying.”

Mila Kunis recently opened up about the extent to which Ashton Kutcher’s health suffered for his ‘Jobs’ role

Ashton Kutcher, who starred in 'Jobs,' and Mila Kunis
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis | C Flanigan/FilmMagic/Getty Images

While Kutcher and Kunis try to keep their family lives and relationship fairly private, it is not uncommon for Kunis to reveal little tidbits every so often. Fans knew that Kutcher’s fruit-only diet when preparing to portray the late telecommunications visionary resulted in hospital visits. However, Kunis recently told Hot Ones host, Sean Evans, that her husband “downplayed” the situation.

“He was so dumb. He only ate grapes at one point, it was so stupid,” she told Evans, according to People. “We ended up in the hospital twice with pancreatitis!” 

Kunis does not shy away from sharing her opinion, and that is what makes their relationship work so well since they first set eyes on each other on the set of That ’70s Show. It was her upfront honesty that resulted in the couple moving in together and shortly afterward getting married. 

Did Steve Jobs’ diet contribute to his death? 

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Dietitians frown upon following a strict fruitarian diet because of its lack of healthy nutrients required for a holistic diet. There are many risks of a fruitarian diet, including weight gain, diabetes, tooth decay, malnutrition, and pancreatitis. Despite the diet’s bad reputation, Jobs embraced the super-restrictive fruitarian lifestyle. It certainly added to the tech mastermind’s mystery.

Since Jobs died in 2011 of pancreatic cancer, many speculated that it was due to his restrictive fruitarian diet. However, reports have verified that the tech guru’s eating habits did not contribute to his cancer.