Actor Morgan Freeman has admitted to being “a little PO’d” by his voice being used with artificial intelligence without his permission.
As a result, his lawyers “very, very busy” attempting to tamp down its use, according to Fox News.
“Many, yeah. Quite a few,” Freeman told The Guardian about ongoing cases.
Morgan discussed the use of his iconic voice by AI, including after their death like James Earl Jones.
Jones gave Lucasfilm his permission to continue using his voice as Darth Vader through AI, but Freeman does not agree with the idea.
“I’m a little PO’d, you know,” Freeman said. “I’m like any other actor: don’t mimic me with falseness. 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 also spoke of “Tilly Norwood,” an AI actress. She has been condemned by actors’ union since she came on the scene in September.
“Nobody likes her because she’s not real and that takes the part of a real person, so it’s not going to work out very well in the movies or in television … The union’s job is to keep actors acting, so there’s going to be that conflict,” Freeman said.
“If you’re going to speak, speak distinctly, hit your final consonants and do exercises to lower your voice,” Freeman said. “Most people’s voices are higher than they would be normally if they knew how to relax it. He taught that sort of thing. It was Robert Whitman: I will never forget him.“
