Matthew McConaughey, Michael Caine Team Up With ElevenLabs to Recreate Their Voices Using AI

Academy Award-winning actors Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine have partnered with AI audio company ElevenLabs to create digital replicas of their iconic voices. This collaboration comes amid ongoing debates in Hollywood about AI's impact on creative professions. McConaughey, an “investor and early supporter” of the platform, plans to leverage the technology to launch a Spanish edition of his 'Lyrics of Livin’' newsletter, as stated on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Caine has listed his voice on the company's new Iconic Voice Marketplace, where brands and producers can use AI versions of celebrity voices for audiobooks, ad campaigns, and more.

This development highlights a major point of contention in Hollywood. While some actors see AI’s commercial potential, others perceive it as an existential threat to their craft. McConaughey praised ElevenLabs' approach to innovation, stating, “Since our first conversation, I've been impressed by how the ElevenLabs team has taken the magic of the core technology and turned it into products that creators, enterprises, and storytellers use daily.” Meanwhile, Caine’s voice joins digital replicas of deceased stars, including Judy Garland, John Wayne, Babe Ruth, and Alan Turing, showcasing the wide-ranging potential of AI-powered voice cloning.

First Lady Melania Trump has also collaborated with ElevenLabs, using an AI-generated replica of her voice to create an audiobook version of her memoir. This demonstrates the expanding applications of AI voice cloning in non-Hollywood publishing and content platforms, showing its commercial attractiveness beyond traditional entertainment.

Prominent Hollywood figures are expressing strong opposition to the use of AI in entertainment. Three-time Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro voiced his disapproval at a recent Netflix screening of 'Frankenstein', declaring, “Fuck AI!” He later told NPR, “I would rather die than use generative AI in my films.” Similarly, Dame Emma Thompson expressed her “intense irritation” with Microsoft’s AI assistant attempting to rewrite her scripts, emphasizing, “I don't need you to fucking rewrite what I've just written!”

Other industry leaders have shared concerns about the ethical implications of AI. Robert Downey Jr., known for his role as Iron Man, vowed to “sue all future executives” who create unauthorized replicas of his character using generative AI. Nicolas Cage described AI as “inhumane” and warned young actors that “the technology wants to take your instrument.” These comments reflect a profound unease among artists as AI technology encroaches on areas previously dominated by human creativity.

Boris Rehlinger, the French voice of Ben Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix, leads the TouchePasMaVF initiative to protect human dubbing performers from being replaced by AI. Rehlinger revealed his anxiety, stating, “I feel threatened even though my voice hasn't been replaced by AI yet.” This sentiment echoes wider concerns within the voice acting community globally. Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild fought for 118 days in 2023 to secure protections against the threat of AI, and video game performers negotiated an agreement requiring “explicit consent” and “cryptographic proof” for any AI-generated performances.