EXCLUSIVE: Jared Harris, the Emmy-nominated star of The Crown and Chernobyl, has asked his lawyers to intervene after a new podcast used artificial intelligence to recreate his likeness.
Deadline’s Rendering column last week spotlighted Films Not Made, a podcast that will turn to artificial intelligence to resurrect dead Hollywood movie pitches.
Hosted by Amy Hobby, producer of Oscar-nominated documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, and Welcome to the Machine director Avi Zev Weider, the podcast invites a guest to revisit an old idea, with AI being used to create a new trailer and pitch deck.
Promotional materials for the podcast featured a clip of an AI-generated Jared Harris, though the actor said he did not approve of his image being recreated using the technology.
In a statement shared with Deadline (carried in full below), Harris said: “With regard to my association with the recent story in Deadline about the new podcast Films Not Made, this is a perfect example of the concern ‘creatives’ like myself have over the misuse of AI, namely the unauthorized use of one’s image, voice, work or likeness without prior consultation where the intention is to generate an income stream. The podcast is a commercial venture, set up to benefit the creators, and its producers.”
The British actor added that he was not contacted about the Films Not Made podcast, which will feature guests including Shrek 2 director Conrad Vernon and Sideways writer Rex Pickett.
Harris continued: “As artists, we view the coming wave of AI-generated content with curiosity and suspicion. Frankly, the suspicion rests entirely with the human element that wields it, not the technology itself. My control over the use of my image is protected by contract and settled State and Federal law.”
Through his attorney, he requested that the podcast’s producers remove his image from the trailer and other materials. Hobby, Films Not Made‘s co-host, told Deadline that the edit had been made.
In an interview last week, Deadline asked Hobby and Weider about their decision to generate an image of Harris. Hobby said she felt comfortable doing so because of a previous professional encounter with Harris. Weider said actors were fair game.
“We’re all breathing in the same air now,” he said. “These tools exist. They’ve been trained on everything. Actors, filmmakers, books, scripts, art, all of us — we’ve been swept into something none of us consented to. That’s the atmosphere. The question is what you do once you’re breathing it in.”
Jared Harris Statement:
With regard to my association with the recent story in Deadline about the new podcast Films Not Made, this is a perfect example of the concern ‘creatives’ like myself have over the misuse of AI, namely the unauthorized use of one’s image, voice, work or likeness without prior consultation where the intention is to generate an income stream. The podcast is a commercial venture, set up to benefit the creators, and its producers.
I am not difficult to reach. My representatives regularly handle enquiries over my availability or interest in any number of projects. They and their information are easily accessible on IMDB. Neither I nor my representatives were contacted about this podcast, its content or the article in Deadline featuring my image.
As artists, we view the coming wave of AI generated content with curiosity and suspicion. Frankly, the suspicion rests entirely with the human element that wields it, not the technology itself. My control over the use of my image is protected by contract and settled State and Federal law. I have not ceded that right through any prior professional association or relationship. Accordingly I have instructed my lawyers to issue a cease and desist order to the producers of this podcast and remove my image from their trailer and their promotional art work.
