Synthetic actors: An interview from the future

Jan. 15, 2022 -- For nearly a decade, replica synthespians have delighted moviegoers worldwide. From the $9 billion dollar worldwide bonanza of the “Bruce Lee Reborn” series to the critical huzzahs for the young Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in Sofia Coppola’s stylish remake of “Before Sunrise,” audiences have gobbled up these costly digital confections.

But history was made last week as Pixar-Dreamworks-Universal announced the details of the long-rumored “Love and Kisses” project starring the reclusive Hollywood legend Julia Roberts.  For the first time a living actor will actually co-star with their own replica. 

We caught up with Roberts at her home in her Hollywood Hills post-quake villa to talk about her first picture in nearly a decade and this bold experiment in sharing the screen with a younger self.

Q: Most actresses would be pretty worried about appearing alongside a much younger version of themselves.
Roberts: Well, we won’t actually appear on screen at the same time. My character, Amanda, is looking back on her life, so the story will alternate back and forth. 

But even so—this has got to be a pretty strange experience for you.  And it’s quite a risk also.
First of all, I would never have even thought about this if it hadn’t been justified artistically. But the script is so wonderful that I just had to play both Amandas. And from there, as I talked to the studio, and especially to Steve Jobs, who has been terrific about walking me through all this technology, it just started to make sense. 

Are you going to wear the replica suit to play young Amanda yourself?
Oh, absolutely. Since it’s the same character, the body frame and physical movements will be the same so it makes sense for me to play young Amanda also. I will need to do some training, mostly flexibility work, just to make sure my walking and so forth are age appropriate. 

What’s the replica suit like?
(Laughs) Uh, if you can imagine a combination of a scuba wetsuit and some kind of medical device. ... I mean, the suit itself is wireless, but there are still like 65,000 individual location sensors and they’re all connected together by this wiring harness that runs under the fabric.  It feels very, very weird. And for some reason it’s not very breathable so they have to keep the set chilled. But once you’re in the scene you forget about it.

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