Two-time Emmy winner Bruce Willis can still appear in movies after selling his image rights to Deepcake, a Delaware-based company founded by Ukrainian-born CEO Maria Chmir, last year before his aphasia diagnosis.
Engineers at the AI-powered content optimization web platform created a 4K ultra-realistic ‘digital twin’ of the German-born, New Jersey-raised 67-year-old by inputting 34K images of his face into their neural network.
In August 2021, Bruce’s twin made his debut by having his face ‘grafted’ on to understudy Konstantin Solovyov for a commercial for Russian telecoms giant MegaFon.
It now only takes engineers ‘three to five days’ to recreate Willis in projects, but his estate has the final sign-off on what’s created.
‘I liked the precision with which my character turned out. It’s a mini-movie in my usual action-comedy genre,’ the Die Hard alum said in a statement on their website.
‘For me, it is a great opportunity to go back in time. With the advent of modern technology, even when I was on another continent, I was able to communicate, work and participate in the filming. It’s a very new and interesting experience, and I thank our entire team.’
Star Wars producers use deepfake technology for all of their cast members and celebs like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey, and Michelle Pfeiffer reportedly have digital copies.
Bruce – who’s amassed over $9.4B worldwide for his films – has three more action thrillers in the can that he shot last year before his aphasia diagnosis and subsequent retirement.
Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions due to stroke, head trauma, brain tumor, brain infection, or neurodegenerative disease.