Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine Join Forces with AI Startup ElevenLabs
At the end of every episode of creator Vince Gilligan’s new Apple TV+ drama Pluribus, a brief message appears with the credits: “This show was made by humans.” It might as well be a declaration of war on A.I.’s creeping presence in Hollywood. The Breaking Bad creator has been outspoken in his distrust of A.I., calling it “the world’s most expensive and energy-intensive plagiarism machine,” in a Variety interview recently. However, not everyone in Hollywood shares his view, as some actors are taking a different approach. Case in point: Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine have officially licensed their voices to ElevenLabs, the fast-growing startup known for its ultra-realistic A.I. voice models.
According to a report by The Observer, McConaughey and Caine’s move comes as much of the entertainment industry is still debating what A.I. collaboration should look like. For ElevenLabs, it’s the company’s highest-profile partnership yet—an attempt to prove it can be a creative ally rather than a threat.
A New Era of Voice Licensing
Caine is joining ElevenLabs’ new “Iconic Voice Marketplace,” which lets companies request permission to use authorized, A.I.-generated versions of celebrity voices in creative projects. As SAG-AFTRA notes, this structure aligns with their latest contract, which requires explicit permission and fair compensation for any digital replica of an actor. In a statement about the partnership, Caine said, “ElevenLabs is at the very forefront of technology, using innovation not to replace humanity, but to celebrate it… ElevenLabs gives everyone the tools to be heard. It’s not about replacing voices; it’s about amplifying them, opening doors for new storytellers everywhere.”
McConaughey is taking things a step further. The True Detective star has taken an equity stake in ElevenLabs (terms undisclosed) and is launching a Spanish-language version of his “Lyrics of Livin’” newsletter, narrated by a synthetic version of his own voice. In announcing the deal, McConaughey praised the “extraordinary storytelling capabilities and creative potential that ElevenLabs unlocks.”
The Future of AI in Entertainment
The two stars represent a major win for ElevenLabs, founded in 2022 by two childhood friends and Big Tech veterans. The company says more than 60 percent of the Fortune 500 use at least one of its A.I. audio tools. Its clients include Perplexity, The Washington Post, and even New York City Mayor Eric Adams. However, the company has also faced controversy, such as during the 2024 Presidential race, when a user created a deepfake of President Biden’s voice and deployed it in a robocall scheme. ElevenLabs suspended the account, but the episode underscored how quickly voice A.I. can cross ethical lines.
Despite the concerns, the technology has advanced rapidly, now used in everything from audiobook production to real-time video translation. As The Guardian notes, Morgan Freeman, known for his distinctive voice, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the unauthorized use of his voice, saying, “I’m a little PO’d, you know… I’m like any other actor. Don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it, and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.”
For proof of how quickly A.I. has seeped into entertainment, look no further than Netflix. The Argentine sci-fi series The Eternaut used generative A.I. to depict the collapse of a building, while Happy Gilmore 2 relied on the technology to de-age characters. The McConaughey and Caine deals are just one chapter in Hollywood’s ongoing A.I. reckoning. Their ElevenLabs partnerships don’t resolve every concern, but they do suggest a model where actors retain control—and get paid.
Image Source: observer.com
