Jesse Eisenberg was forbidden from meeting Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg before filming The Social Network

Jesse Eisenberg was prevented from meeting Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg before portraying him in 'The Social Network'.

The 41-year-old actor earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the social media gurur in the 2010 film and has now revealed that, despite wanting to meet Zuckerberg before portraying him, he was stopped from having a face-to-face exchange.

After being cast in the role, Jesse - who was 25 at the time - decided to drive to Menlo Park in Northern California with an aim to walk straight into the Facebook offices and ask to sit down with Zuckerberg so he could see what he was like and do some research before playing the role.

However, on his journey there, he was called by the producers of the film and warned not to follow through with his plan due to legal reasons.

Speaking to host Scott Feinberg on an episode of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, he said: “I was driving up to meet him because I was told [by producers], ‘No, we’re not going to [set up a meeting for you].

“So I was literally in my car driving up. I was going to just go to the office and I figured they would let me in. [The film] was announced that I was in it. I just wanted to be in a room with him, just to see what the feeling is like. It just seemed like the bare minimum of research. How could you act in a movie [when] there’s a living person over there?

“I got a call from Scott Rudin telling me, ‘Do not go there,' He was telling me this on behalf of Sony’s lawyers. He was telling me, ‘You can’t do that for a variety of legal reasons.'”

Previously, the 'Zombieland' star revealed that he would relish the opportunity to play Zuckerberg on-screen again.

Eisenberg said: "Aaron (Sorkin) is such a great writer, obviously, and so if he wrote something it would be great.

"My background is in theatre, and the last show that I did, I did over 200 times.

"There's no amount of times you could play a role that would get old because if you're a responsible actor, you're instinctively finding different things in a character."

Eisenberg feels a connection with Zuckerberg, 41, after his portrayal of the social media tycoon.

He explained: "I probably have more sympathy for him than the average person, only by virtue of acting in a movie version of him and therefore forcing myself to sympathise with his plight.

"When I see him in the news, I probably have a greater affection than most people."