Seth MacFarlane used AI to portray Bill Clinton in season 2 of Peacock's Ted.
Key points
The Family Guy creator said that the team "tried prosthetics" and "traditional CGI" before resorting to AI.
"It's an interesting example of how AI can be used as a tool," MacFarlane opined.
Seth MacFarlaneportraysBill Clintonin the new season ofTed— and he said that the performance could only be properly achieved using AI-generated visuals.
TheFamily Guycreatorexplained why he opted to use AIto play the former president during an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday.
"I've been doing my Bill Clinton impression since the early days ofFamily Guy," MacFarlane said. "We filmed this like a year and a half ago. That's how long it takes us to do the CGI. It's an interesting example of how AI can be used as a tool and not necessarily trample on the art that the rest of the industry is doing."
MacFarlane —who also directs, writes, and executive produces the series — said that theTedteam exhausted every other option before turning to AI. "We tried prosthetics, we tried traditional CGI, and everything just looked terrifying," he said. "So we just said, 'To hell with it, let's try AI.'"
TheAmerican Dadcreator considers his AI version of Clinton a success. "It worked," he said. "It was the only way I looked like Bill Clinton."
Peacock'sTedseries serves as a '90s-set prequel to the 2012 movie of the same name. Both projects star MacFarlane as the voice of Ted, a foul-mouthed living teddy bear who is best friends with John, a human played by Mark Wahlberg in the film and by Max Burkholder in the series.
In the fifth episode of the show's new second season, titled "The Sword in the Stoned," John's parents Matty (Scott Grimes) and Susan (Alanna Ubach) begin working at Dunkin' Donuts, and Clinton — the current president in the show's timeline — walks in during one of their shifts.
Matty, a vocal Republican, takes the opportunity to criticize Clinton's policies, which prompts the president to clear the room to have a private conversation with him.
Advertisement
Clinton then launches into an expletive-filled tirade.
"Listen here, you pockmarked piece of s---. You've got some set of f---in' balls," Clinton says. "I take time out of my day to visit your little s--- shop, and you're giving me lip? Maybe the real problem is just that you're just a f---in' loser. F--- you, think you're so f---in' tough with your f---in' s---bag mouth. Why don't you take a swing at me, tough guy? I'll slap you back so hard you won't even recognize your own f---in' dick. And get a shave, you pig. The f---in' president's here."
Clinton then poses for a photo opportunity with Matty, orders Munchkins, and throws coffee at the barista.
MacFarlane previouslyexpressed mixed feelings about AIin a 2024 interview with Bill Maher on theClub Randompodcast.
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.
"AI for enterprises like medicine, I think is going to be a wonderful thing," he said. "And I think a lot of doctors that I've spoken to feel the same way. AI is a tool. It's not gonna replace us, it's not gonna replace innovation, when it comes to medicine, but it's a wonderful tool."
MacFarlane continued, "It's a very different development for an enterprise like that than it is for entertainment. Entertainment, we should be very scared."
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly