From roles that only appear for a few seconds
An ancient, war or action movie may require dozens, even hundreds of people to transform into soldiers, civilians, customers in restaurants or passersby. This is also the group of characters that AI is most easily approached.
The noteworthy issue is that AI does not need to act better than a star to take away a job. For characters standing away from the camera, appearing for a few seconds or only having the task of filling the frame, the technology only needs to reach a level that makes viewers not feel abnormal.
Talking to Lao Dong, director Zun Bin predicted that extras and very small roles will be the first group to be affected.
A scene requires 50 passersby, customers in a restaurant, office workers, students in the schoolyard... then the producer can completely consider using AI characters if the quality is good enough," he said.
According to Zun Bin, after extras, there may be "supporting roles that appear very little, do not have too much screen time or do not require complex emotional interaction".
Some segments that require stunt actors are also capable of being affected, especially dangerous scenes that can be resolved with special effects and images created by technology.
However, the director emphasized that the main role will not be the first target to be replaced. A central character not only needs to "look like a human", but also must create connection with co-stars and audiences.
Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy has a fairly similar forecast. The female artist believes that in the immediate future, people with "few screen time or extra roles" are at risk of being more affected.
Meanwhile, the main actors still have an advantage because they are "creative factors, with real emotions". According to Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy, AI can currently recreate, imitate and synthesize a very large amount of data, but cannot yet be consistent with the process of feeling and thinking of humans.
From a production perspective, Kevin Huynh believes that AI has the clearest advantage in "a landscape that needs a lot of personnel, action scenes that use graphics or effects".
The problem here is not only in the actor's salary. A scene with hundreds of people also involves casting, filming schedule, costumes, makeup, movement, accommodation and scene organization. If a part of the crowd can be created by technology, production pressure will be significantly reduced.
However, Kevin Huynh does not support using AI just to replace people. According to him, technology "there are still many limitations in films when describing the character's unique features".
When a door to the profession can narrow
Director Pham Vinh Khuong looks at the issue in a different direction: it is necessary to distinguish between replacing a part of work and replacing a profession.
According to him, a small role does not mean an unimportant role. Some characters only appear in one scene, say one sentence but hold the knot of the story. Therefore, it is not possible to just rely on the duration of appearance to determine whether a character can be replaced by AI or not.
Pham Vinh Khuong once directly experimented with making films with AI with "Touch", then "Shadow of the Wolf - The Curse Under the Moonlight". From this experience, he believes that repetitive, less interactive parts will be under pressure first, while people with creativity and creating their own choices for characters are still valuable.
With stunt actors, he is also cautious when talking about the concept of "replacement". AI can help create some dangerous images, but the design of movements, rhythm of opposition, body weight or persuasion of action is still based on human knowledge and experience.
Popular actors and very small roles were once the starting point for many people in the profession. It's not just a working day, but also an opportunity to step into the film set, observe the director, get acquainted with the production process, accumulate experience and wait for a bigger role.
If the lowest level of employment in the acting industry is gradually automated, one of the doors to enter the profession may also narrow.
Hollywood had to incorporate this risk into the labor agreement. SAG-AFTRA stipulates that producers who want to scan images of extras to create digital copies must notify and receive consent.
Notably, the regulations also aim to prevent the use of digital copies as a simple way to avoid recruiting extras according to agreed norms.
This shows that the question "who lost the role first" is no longer completely hypothetical.
Zun Bin believes that a more suitable future could be the "human + AI" model, instead of AI completely eliminating humans. When simple tasks are automated, actors with acting ability, personality and connecting with the audience can even become more valuable.
