Mark Wahlberg is open to an AI clone carrying on his work

Mark Wahlberg would use AI to enhance a movie, not to replace the actors in it. He is also open to an AI likeness of himself carrying on his work after he is gone.

Wahlberg, an actor and producer, said both on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt on October 15, in an interview with TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos.

He was discussing a Pete Rose biopic he is attached to star in as the title character. Sports Illustrated reported on September 16 that Wahlberg told The Rich Eisen Show the team has a script and is "really close," and that he hopes to be in production in early 2027. No filming location has been announced.

Wahlberg said he was weighing AI for the film's setting rather than its cast. "It's a fairly expensive movie, but, we're talking about utilizing [AI] to enhance the stadium setting, things of that nature," he said.

He was also clear about what he would not use AI for:

"I don't think you should just, you know, put an idea into ChatGPT and it puts out a script, and then you should go make that and not use real actors. But if you can use it to enhance what you're doing, I'm all for that."

Asked whether he had visited CAA Vault, the Creative Artists Agency facility that scans performers' bodies, faces, movements and voices to build AI replicas, Wahlberg said he had not. He said he would be interested anyway. "I would be interested because I think in the future, if that's where things go, it would be cool that my children or my grandchildren could be in charge of my likeness and my image, and hopefully put me in some good movies. It'll be interesting to see where things go," he said.

He said he would not object if his animated series Ted continued with an AI version of him after he could no longer perform the role. "I wouldn't be opposed to it," Wahlberg said.

What he described is already governed by union contracts. SAG-AFTRA's own contract page says members ratified the 2026 TV/Theatrical Agreement by a vote of 91.42% to 8.58%, for a term running through June 30, 2030. It places digital replicas in Section 64 and synthetics in Section 64.1, according to an analysis by attorney Scott Hervey. Under the contract, a producer needs an "articulable business reason" to scan a performer, and producers have agreed not to use a synthetic in a human role unless it brings "significant additional value" over what a human performer or a digital replica could do.

Performers have already put a price on it. Fortune reported on January 29 that the TikTok creator Khaby Lame sold his company in an all-stock deal worth $975 million that includes the commercial development of an AI digital twin, authorizing use of his image, voice and behavior.

Wahlberg's answer puts him on the permissive end of a split industry, with the union's rulebook now deciding how far a likeness deal can run without fresh consent.

The TechCrunch interview is online now, and SAG-AFTRA publishes free digital replica and synthetic performer explainers on its artificial intelligence resource page at sagaftra.org.