In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matthew Lawrence sparked controversy after suggesting that his late co-star and cultural icon Robin Williams should be the next “voice of AI.”
Hey Siri, Matthew Lawrence has a bad idea.
Williams, widely beloved for his comedic genius and dramatic range, died by suicide in 2014 at age 63.
Best known to ‘90s audiences as the middle Lawrence brother, Matthew starred alongside Williams in the 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire. Over the weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, Lawrence discussed the impact Williams had on his career and expressed hopes to “do something special” with the late comedian’s voice.
Lawrence told the EW interviewer:
“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.”
He went on to emphasize the widespread nostalgia Williams still evokes:
“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 the idea came after watching an old commercial featuring Williams doing a computerized voiceover, which reminded him of modern AI tools like Siri and Alexa.
He imagined using Williams’ voice for GPS directions or digital assistants, explaining:
“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."
"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.”
You can watch Lawrence’s interview clip, along with his brothers, Joey and Andrew Lawrence:
- YouTube EW/YouTube
But the internet wasn’t impressed—and neither was Williams’ family.
His daughter, filmmaker Zelda Williams, has been vocal about her opposition to using her father’s voice through artificial intelligence. During 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, she condemned the unauthorized use of her father’s likeness, calling it both unethical and disturbing.
Zelda advocated for protecting her father’s memory from Artificial Intelligence:
“I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings."
"Living actors deserve a chance to create characters with their choices, to voice cartoons, to put their HUMAN effort and time into the pursuit of performance.”
You can view the entire post from Zelda’s Instagram Story below:
@zeldawilliams/Instagram
Zelda’s warning reflects broader industry concerns. During the Hollywood strikes, actors and writers spoke out against AI being used to replicate performers without their consent digitally. A similar example arose in 2023 when Back to Eden, a sci-fi film starring a digitally recreated James Dean—who died in 1955—sparked backlash. The project remains unreleased.
Not to mention, the real-life Robin Williams would have objected to his voice being used by AI, as he famously clashed with Disney in the 1990s over the unauthorized use of his Aladdin character, Genie, for merchandising.
The dispute led Williams to skip the sequel The Return of Jafar, with The Simpsons’ Dan Castellaneta stepping in. Although Williams returned for the third installment, the conflict highlighted his desire for artistic and ethical control.
Lawrence’s proposal seems unlikely to gain the blessing of Williams’ estate.
Still, Lawrence emphasized his personal admiration for Williams, telling People earlier this year:
“He stayed invested, and he gave me some incredible life lessons that definitely kept me from some dark places at times. And I’ll just never be able to thank him enough for that.”
The actor appeared at San Diego Comic-Con to promote a new project with his brothers titled The Lawrence Brothers Detective Agency, a graphic novel about Hardy Boys-style sleuths investigating Hollywood’s oddest mysteries. The project, described as Scooby-Doo meets Barry meets BoJack Horseman, is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter with a $50,000 goal.
While promoting the novel, Lawrence also stirred debate with his critique of James Gunn’s blockbuster Superman, specifically the portrayal of Krypto the Superdog.
Lawrence told The Hollywood Reporter:
“I think it needed more heart. It needed more depth. He was kind of like: ‘This dog. I don’t really care about this dog.’ ”
His younger brother Andrew stepped in to defend the film, reminding fans that (spoiler alert) Superman was only dogsitting, with a comical Supergirl scene at the end revealing Krypto’s true owner.
Matthew Lawrence is on a controversy roll!
But it was the AI remark that drew the most attention online.
Lawrence’s Kickstarter for The Lawrence Brothers Detective Agency is currently live. You can follow the campaign and his future updates (before he gets roasted again) here.
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