Mark Wahlberg Open to AI Likeness and Pete Rose Biopic Tech

Mark Wahlberg is preparing to use artificial intelligence to construct baseball stadiums for his upcoming Pete Rose biopic, drawing a hard line between employing the technology as a production tool and allowing it to replace performers.

The actor confirmed plans to deploy AI-generated environments for the film, in which he will play the former Cincinnati Reds star banned from Major League Baseball for gambling. The approach targets costly background elements rather than principal photography. “We’re talking about utilizing [AI] to enhance the stadium setting, things of that nature,” Wahlberg said during an appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt. He explicitly rejected the model of generating scripts through platforms like ChatGPT and casting synthetic actors instead of human talent.

Period sports films carry notoriously high budgets due to the need for historically accurate venues, crowd replication, and era-specific details. Traditional visual effects pipelines require extensive manual modeling to recreate 1970s and 1980s ballparks such as Riverfront Stadium or Veterans Stadium. Generative AI tools offer productions a method to populate these massive architectural backgrounds faster, reducing the reliance on large VFX teams for non-interactive scenery while keeping the lead performances entirely human.

Wahlberg’s stance places him in a distinct minority among prominent Hollywood figures who have publicly embraced generative tools following the industry’s bitter labor disputes. During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, the unauthorized scanning and digital replication of actors served as a primary flashpoint. The resulting contract established strict consent and compensation requirements for creating digital replicas, mandating that studios obtain clear agreements before scanning performers or using their likenesses in AI training datasets. Many A-list actors have since avoided discussing personal adoption of the technology to prevent friction with union leadership and peers.

Despite the lingering industry tension, Wahlberg signaled willingness to participate in digital archiving. He noted he has not yet visited the CAA Vault, a proprietary facility operated by Creative Artists Agency where clients undergo comprehensive body, face, movement, and voice scanning to create high-fidelity digital twins. However, he expressed interest in undergoing the process specifically to transfer control of his digital likeness to his children and grandchildren. The goal, according to Wahlberg, would be empowering his estate to authorize future roles long after his death.

This concept of posthumous performance licensing represents a rapidly emerging sector within talent management. Agencies are increasingly treating scanned likenesses as inheritable intellectual property assets, similar to music catalogs or literary estates. While early digital resurrections—such as Peter Cushing’s appearance in “Rogue One” or Harold Ramis in “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”—required painstaking manual animation, modern volumetric capture allows estates to license highly realistic, AI-driven performances with significantly less friction.

Wahlberg extended this logic to his animated television work, stating he would not object to an AI version of himself voicing characters in the Peacock series “Ted” indefinitely. He framed the prospect as a service to audiences who want continued access to specific entertainment properties, comparing it to childhood media he wished had never ended.

His perspective reflects his broader positioning as both a working actor and an angel investor evaluating technology markets. By separating the creative core of filmmaking from its logistical execution, Wahlberg aligns with a growing faction of producers attempting to integrate Silicon Valley efficiency models into studio production without triggering another labor revolt.

The Pete Rose biopic remains in active development. Rose, who died in September 2024 at age 83, holds the MLB record for career hits but was permanently barred from the sport in 1989 and subsequently excluded from the Baseball Hall of Fame, making the project one of the more complex character studies currently moving through the Hollywood pipeline.