Will Actors be Replaced in the New World?

As one decade ends and another begins, I have heard a lot of speculation about what the future will hold. This year, the speculation on what the future will bring for those that choose the acting profession is both exciting and terrifying. There are several advances in science that have led to innovation in the field of filmmaking. Computer advances in digital imaging have made the ability to distinguish between reality and animation nearly impossible. Smart Assistants can make a phone call to make an appointment without letting on that they are a bot. As self-driving trucks and delivery drones begin to take over other jobs, it is possible that Artificial life will creep into other fields as well. Creative endeavors, once thought to be free from the threat of computer domination, are starting to be threatened. In the field of acting, we are at a threshold of being able to realistically generate actors that fool the best of audiences and the question arises as to whether actors of the future will have jobs.

A CGI younger self

The Star Wars franchise has brought beloved actors back from the dead to revive their roles and complete their saga. Blade Runner 2049 made Sean Young young again and countless other actors go under the CGI scalpel to shave years off and play their younger selves. In a major twist, James Dean was recently cast in a role about a soldier and will be brought to life via CGI. Crowd scenes, once full of extras are now filled with digitally animated bodies and lifelike dragons can hold our attention for months. With this innovation, famous stars are digitizing themselves to possibly be brought back to play roles long after they are gone. The scope of what is possible is expanding and we are seeing more and more possibilities to generate new content with beloved stars from time past.

While this may seem bleak for the future of acting, keep faith. Streaming services bring demand for content to levels never before seen. Subway cars are lined with people staring at screens, streaming content. People are attached to their devices and short-form media is being devoured at mind-boggling rates. The weekend-series binge is a global phenomenon. On top of this, the ability for anyone to create a high-quality film is in their phones and the desire for more content is insatiable. There has never been a better time for a film actor to create their own content, character-driven stories, and sketch and have it all be seen by the masses. In this world of hyper-connectivity, the need for everyday human stories is apparent in the rise of such series as Amazon Prime’s Fleabag and Modern Love. We are on the lookout for new stories, touching stories, old stories, anything to fill our little screens. But the common theme is that we need human stories. Who better to tell those stories than living and breathing humans?

Artificial connections

There is nothing like the real connection between two human beings on screen as they listen and respond truthfully in the moment. People are much less predictable than a computer can imagine. The spontaneous response of being human is only fully attainable by being human. Artificial life on screen, while fascinating, is still a little hollow. Until computers can generate human thought and emotion, the illusion will not be as full as the real thing. Computers have not yet perfected a way to generate the human voice, but even when they do, it cannot be as flexible and responsive as an actor’s. Human voices are unpredictable when they are experiencing emotions and our faces have thousands of micro-expressions that are picked up subconsciously by the people watching. Having been part of many, many acting classes, when an actor’s true impulse is freed, everything comes out in a surprising way that I do not believe can be attained by anything other than a human being.

The best news for actors is that the world of connectivity has made it much easier to get a role. Auditions are being digitized and actors can self-tape and land a role within a few hours without ever stepping into a room. Casting directors no longer need to thumb through endless headshots, they can click and watch an actor’s reel in seconds. Online casting services, notices, and the ability for anyone to market themselves through social media create endless ways to be seen and found.

Storytelling has been around as long as humans have walked the earth and though it is changing at a rapid rate, there is nothing that can replace the human element in a more satisfying way than a human. While media may play a larger role in an actor’s life, I do not think we will ever be fully replaced by the digital version of ourselves.