Topics: Tom Hanks, Film and TV, Celebrity, Technology, Artificial Intelligence
Tom Hanks is one of the most beloved actors out there, and at 66 years old, he doesn't even think death will stop him from popping up in movies.
From Forrest Gump to Toy Story, Captain Phillips to Elvis, Hanks has been working hard for decades to entertain fans across the globe.
He most recently appeared in the heart-wrenching comedy-drama A Man Called Otto, and with more movies already in the works, he doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon.
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Hanks isn't sure that it would even matter if he did, though, as he told the Adam Buxton podcast his career could carry on even if he was 'hit by a bus'.
The actor credited this belief in part to the work he did on the 2004 film The Polar Express, when he helped advance the use of motion-capture technology by appearing in digital form.
His likeness and movement were both recorded for the film, so with that information readily available, Hanks believes AI could allow his career to continue for years to come.
“This has always been lingering,” he told the host. “The first time we did a movie that had a huge amount of our own data locked in a computer — literally what we looked like — was a movie called The Polar Express.
“We saw this coming, we saw that there was going to be this ability to take zeros and ones from inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character. That has only grown a billionfold since then and we see it everywhere.”
Hanks went on to claim that improvements in technology had sparked conversations among actors and organisations to try and ensure people have control over their own likeness.
He said: “I can tell you that there [are] discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms in order to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else’s being our intellectual property."
Hanks pointed out that he could even go back in time on screen if he wanted to, saying: “What is a bona fide possibility right now is, if I wanted to, I could get together and pitch a series of seven movies that would star me in them in which I would be 32 years old from now until kingdom come.
"Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology. I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but performances can go on and on.
“Outside of the understanding that it’s being done by AI or deep fake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone and it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality.”
Hanks expressed belief people would 'be able to tell' that it wasn't really him on screen, but added: "The question is will they care? There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation.”
Hopefully the real Hanks won't be going anywhere any time soon, but only time will tell where his career - or even an AI-version of it - will go in the future.
