Mark on AI: The Full Interviews

In February 2025, I was approached by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about a conversation I had with fellow dialect coach Grace Helmcke on Instagram about the usage of Artificial Intelligence in the film The Brutalist and was asked if I'd like to come in to be interviewed on the subject.

One interview was with reporter and film critic Jackson Weaver for CBC's Entertainment News. I show up in the second half and get to have the last word!

The other interview was on camera with Senior Reporter Makda Ghebreslassie for the CBC flagship nightly news and current affairs program The National. Below is the full version.My words are in bold. The words in italic are those that made it into the broadcast interview.

Mark, you've talked quite a bit about the use of AI in the film industry, especially after the release of The Brutalist. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, in The Brutalist, the use of AI was very limited. They just used a very small percentage of their dialogue to enhance certain sounds.

However, neither of the main actors speak Hungarian, which is a language not even remotely related to English and has several speech sounds that are very difficult to master for non-natives.

Couldn't they have just cast Hungarian actors?

That would be the ideal situation, but we don't live in a perfect world, and when you're casting a movie, you have to find actors who a) look the part, b) have the skill to lift the words off the page and make the character come to life, and c) sound like the character's supposed to sound. And if you limit that last one to people who already speak (in) that accent or language as their own, you will really narrow down the number of candidates that will respond to that casting call, especially if it's not a majority language or a widely-spoken dialect.

Not only that, in Hollywood, there's d) household names that can generate strong box office revenue!

Interviewer Makda Ghebreslassie

And that's where a coach comes in?

Exactly. Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones were coached by Tanera Marshall in a Hungarian accent for the majority of their lines that were in English.

I mean, learning how to speak English with Hungarian sounds and prosody is one thing, but to sound like you're a native when speaking a language that's not one you grew up speaking is another entirely. So they came up with a clever solution to make them sound like it was their mother tongue, which was to employ software developed by Ukrainian tech company Respeecher.

Specifically, it helped perfect their Hungarian lines by replacing some of their sounds with those of the editor's (who is from Hungary). It was a minimal application that made sense for accuracy and didn’t overshadow the performances.

Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist

So, you’re not entirely against AI in the industry, but you have concerns about its broader use?

Yes. While its use in The Brutalist was justifiable, the bigger concern lies in its increasing presence in other related areas.

We're seeing in parts of the industry like voice-over actors, commercial voice actors, gaming industry as well, AI is already taking over jobs that were, until very recently, done by actors.

That’s where the issue starts to grow because it raises the question of whether it will push out human professionals, and that’s something I worry about.

So, you believe there’s a real possibility of actors and coaches losing their jobs to AI?

Yes, unfortunately. AI is becoming cheaper and faster, which makes it an attractive alternative for corporations looking to cut costs. The problem is that AI can't replicate the emotional depth, authenticity, and nuanced performance that a human actor or voice artist can bring to the table, and likely never will.

So, while you're not against AI, you're calling for a balanced approach to its use?

That’s right. AI has its place in the industry, but it should complement human work, not replace it entirely. The best films and performances come from a combination of technology and human creativity. If AI takes over too much, we risk losing that essential human touch, the artistry that makes a performance truly stand out.

Do you think the industry will find a way to balance both AI and human talent, or is AI on track to dominate?

I’m hopeful that the industry will find a way to strike that balance. There are already conversations happening around these concerns. But we need to address these issues now before AI becomes too pervasive and changes the landscape in ways we can't undo. As technology evolves, there will always be a place for human involvement, and that's what we need to protect.

END