Simu Liu opposes utilising AI to substitute actors, particularly background personalities.
The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor earlier reacted to Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, who suggested that substituting extras with artificial intelligence could reduce extravagant budgets for production on numerous movies, including A24’s Marty Supreme, in which he makes his debut as an actor. In his initial comment, Liu posted on X last week, “Sure, blame the extras making 15-22 dollars an hour struggling to make a living and not the above-the-line people making multiple millions.”
In the midst of an interview with Deadline on Monday promoting the upcoming Netflix animated film In Your Dreams, Liu elaborated on his point and stated why he was so concerned about supporting background performers’ assistance to the film firm.
“First of all, I thought that take that I was responding to is a really dumb take, particularly really tone deaf and out of touch and also just kind of incorrect,” he stated. “The idea that these background actors who are making minimum wage are somehow the reason why movies are now costing too much – that’s simply not true.”
It was asked why he is susceptible to that assumption, citing his own career, which began as a background actor. He has freely discussed his first acting gig as a background actor in Pacific Rim, which came shortly after he was let go from his bookkeeping job more than ten years ago. Although he began his acting career with no major industry contacts or prior understanding of the filmmaking methodology, he describes his early experience on set as an “invaluable” means for him to master the technical facets of filmmaking.
“This idea of replacing actors with AI, it’s so antithetical to my development as an actor. I think if I was able to learn from that experience, then how many other people are doing the same? In depriving the world of background actors, you’re also depriving people of the opportunity to kind of pick up these skills,” he contended.
On a broader level, Liu stated unequivocally that he believes art should remain a human endeavour rather than a domain where computers may replace humans. Softly believing in Wilde’s theory, “Art for Art’s sake.” He proclaimed,
“Film is such an artist’s medium. Of all the uses of AI that have come forth, replacing art is just, I feel like, the last thing that anybody wants to do with AI. I feel like art is art because it’s human. It comes down to even the way that extras move…it all plays into the frame, and it’s all meaningful to the story. I really do feel like human beings are smart. I feel like when we see somebody in the background not moving like a human, we know. I feel like we could still tell the difference, at least right now.”
