Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis’s agent has denied reports that the film star has sold the rights to his face.
Last week, it was widely reported that Willis, in the first deal of its kind, had sold his face to a deepfake company called Deepcake.
However, a spokesperson for the actor told the BBC that he had “no partnership or agreement” with the company.
And a representative of Deepcake said only Willis had the right to his face.
Willis announced his retirement from acting in March after being diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder that affects speech.
Deepfakes use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology to create realistic videos – often of celebrities or politicians. For actors that can no longer act, the technology has the potential to be game-changing.
On September 27, the Daily Mail reported that a deal had been struck between Willis and Deepcake.
“Two-time Emmy winner Bruce Willis can still appear in movies after selling his image rights to Deepcake,” the story reads.
The story was picked up by the Telegraph and a series of other media outlets.
“Bruce Willis has become the first Hollywood star to sell his rights to allow a ‘digital twin’ of himself to be created for use on screen,” said the Telegraph.
But that doesn’t appear to be the case. What is true is that a deepfake of Bruce Willis was used to create an advert for Megafon, a Russian telecoms company, last year.
However, Willis’s agent told the BBC, “Please know that Bruce has no partnership or agreement with this Deepcake company.”