Mrs. Doubtfire star Matthew Lawrence has said he would “love” to bring back Robin Williams using artificial intelligence.
Williams and Lawrence appeared as father and son in Chris Columbus’ beloved 1993 comedy drama, which was based on the novel Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly at Comic-Con over the weekend, Lawrence said he has spent time thinking about reviving Williams’ “iconic” voice with AI. Williams died by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63.
“I would love — now, obviously, with the respect and with the ok from his family — but I would love to do something really special with his voice because I know for a generation, that voice is just so iconic,” Lawrence explained.
“It’s not just the fact that I knew him and worked with him and so it’s in my head — it’s in everybody’s head. And it would be so cool.”
The actor, who went on to appear in Boy Meets World, NCIS, and Marry Christmas, said the notion was sparked by watching an old commercial featuring a voiceover from Williams.
“It’s kinda like this very contemporary, modern, almost sort of foreshadowing of what’s going on commercial that he did, where he did this computerized voiceover,” he added.
“And it always stuck with me. And then, during his passing, with the AI coming out, I’m like, ‘Man, he’s gotta be the voice of A.I. He’s gotta be the voice in something.’ So yeah, I would love to do that.”
Cultural figures have been resurrected using AI with the permission of their estate. Netflix’s The Andy Warhol Diaries recreated the artist’s voice using the technology, while something similar was done with Val Kilmer on Top Gun: Maverick.
It is not without controversy, however. Scarlett Johansson said she was “shocked” that OpenAI used an imitation of her voice despite her declining to be part of the project months earlier. OpenAI said the voice was not intentionally modeled on Johansson, but paused its use.
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