Morgan Freeman has made it clear he’s not on board with Hollywood’s growing embrace of AI, revealing he’s taking legal action against companies that have been cloning his iconic voice without permission.
In a new interview with The Guardian, the Oscar-winning actor said he’s “a little pissed off” about AI firms using his voice for unauthorized projects. “I’m like any other actor: don’t mimic me with falseness,” he said. “I don’t appreciate it and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.”
Freeman confirmed his legal team has been tracking down offenders. “My lawyers have been very, very busy,” he said, adding they’ve already found “quite a few” companies misusing his likeness.
Morgan Freeman slams AI “actor” Tilly Norwood
The Shawshank Redemption star’s stance sharply contrasts with other actors who’ve embraced synthetic voice tech. Earlier this month, his Dark Knight co-star Sir Michael Caine partnered with AI audio firm ElevenLabs to produce an authorized version of his voice for commercial use. The company’s new Iconic Voice Marketplace lets brands and creators license celebrity voices through consent-based agreements.
Meanwhile, Matthew McConaughey has invested in ElevenLabs and is using his approved AI voice to publish a Spanish edition of his Lyrics of Livin’ newsletter. Even Fortnite joined the AI wave, introducing an in-game Darth Vader voiced with permission from James Earl Jones’ estate.
But Freeman isn’t convinced AI voices will ever replace real talent. Referencing Tilly Norwood, the first fully synthetic “AI actor” unveiled in September, he dismissed the concept outright.
“Nobody likes her because she’s not real,” he said. “That takes the part of a real person, so it’s not going to work out very well in movies or television. The union’s job is to keep actors acting, so there’s going to be that conflict.”
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