Actors are earning good money by licensing their likenesses to AI companies — but some are now regretting it.
A growing number of performers have been shocked to discover their likeness being used in ways they find embarrassing, damaging, or even harmful.
In many cases, actors who didn’t fully grasp the long-term implications are now speaking out of licensing their image to AI. A new report by AFP highlights the rising concerns among those who fear they may have lost control of their likeness.
British actor and model Connor Yeates was sleeping on a friend’s sofa when he signed a three-year deal with AI video firm Synthesia for €4,600 (about US$5,230). At the time, it felt like a lifeline.
“It seemed like a good opportunity,” he tells The Guardian.
But Yeates was later stunned to find his face being used in videos promoting Ibrahim Traore, the president of Burkina Faso, who came to power in a 2022 coup.
Synthesia’s head of corporate affairs, Alexandru Voica, acknowledges the lapse to AFP: “Three years ago, a few videos slipped our content moderation… [involving] exaggerated claims or propaganda.”
Yeates is far from alone. South Korean actor Simon Lee also licensed his image to an AI marketing company — only to later see his digital double in bizarre and misleading videos online. His likeness appeared as a doctor promoting questionable health remedies on TikTok and Instagram, such as lemon balm tea for weight loss or ice baths for acne.
“If it was a nice advertisement, it would’ve been fine to me. But obviously, it is such a scam,” Lee said, adding that his contract prevented him from having the content removed.
These cases highlight the murky consequences of a growing trend: actors selling the rights to their face and voice to AI firms, often for a quick paycheck — only to lose control of how their image is used.
‘Technology is Evolving Faster Than The Law Can Respond’
AI avatars are increasingly used in ads because they’re faster and cheaper than filming real people. Actors typically spend a few hours in front of a green screen and teleprompter, performing a range of emotions so the AI can later generate videos in different languages and tones.
To create these videos, Synthesia’s customers simply choose a face, select a language and tone — serious or playful for example — and insert a script. The process is quick and affordable: the basic version is free, while the pro version costs just a few hundred dollars.
Licensing contracts typically pay a few thousand dollars, but many are packed with legal jargon and broad usage rights.
Alyssa Malchiodi, a lawyer specializing in business contracts, warns that many of these licensing agreements include “broad, perpetual and irrevocable” terms. Contracts often give companies unrestricted global rights, with no way for actors to withdraw them.
“The clients I’ve worked with didn’t fully understand what they were agreeing to at the time,” Malchiodi says.
“One major red flag is the use of broad, perpetual, and irrevocable language that gives the company full ownership or unrestricted rights to use a creator’s voice, image, and likeness across any medium.”
She adds: “Technology is evolving faster than courts or legislatures can respond.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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