Robin Williams' Mrs. Doubtfire costar shares bizarre wish to bring him back using AI... a decade after his death
Matthew Lawrence, who played one of the Hillard children in the beloved 1993 comedy, shared during a recent Comic-Con appearance that he'd love to see the late comedian's unforgettable voice used as a foundation for artificial intelligence, with the blessing of his family, of course.
'I would love — now, obviously, with the respect and with the okay 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 told Entertainment Weekly during a live-streamed interview promoting his new graphic novel project, The Lawrence Brothers Detective Agency.
Lawrence, now 45, was just 12 when he starred alongside Williams in the hit film about a devoted father who disguises himself as a Scottish nanny in order to stay close to his kids after a divorce.
The memories, Lawrence said, have stayed with him ever since.
Williams died by suicide in 2014 at age 63, leaving behind a legacy of laughter, heart, and characters that transcended generations. For Lawrence.
'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 Marry Christmas star explained.
Lawrence said he got the idea after watching an old commercial the Oscar winner was starring in and realized it had some interesting parallels to today.
'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, and it always stuck with me' Lawrence said of the advertisement.
'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.'
During a previous interview with the outlet, Lawrence recalled the life lessons he learned from Williams, including compassion, on the set of Mrs. Doubtfire.
'He really quantified what it was to be a real artist for me in the sense that he was definitely... the most brilliant artist I've ever worked with.'
'But on top of that, he had the compassion, he had the humility, and he also had these things that he struggled with.'
Regarding their upcoming graphic novel, the brothers; Matthew, Joey, 49, and Andy 37, are raising funds via Kickstarter for the project.
They said the idea was sparked about a decade ago after Matthew got a nasty sunburn and started to peel.
'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,' Lawrence said of his idea
Williams died by suicide in 2014 at age 63. Lawrence said his family would have to give their blessing before Williams' voice could be used for AI; Pictured in New York City in September 2013
'These two guys started making a joke that I was a lizard...'
'Matt shed a version of himself,' Andy interjected,' and then that version was the evil villain that caused havoc...'
Matthew picked it up from there, adding, 'and we had to start our own detective agency to solve the crime.'
They have teamed up with The Berkowitz Brothers who are veterans of the genre, along with artists Brian Bengal Yuran and Sean Von Gorman.
In 2023, Williams' daughter Zelda spoke out against using artificial intelligence to re-create her father's voice.
'I am not an impartial voice in SAG's fight against AI. I've witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/re-create actors who cannot consent, like Dad,' she wrote on her Instagram Story.
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