A Twitch streamer has recently used a Deepfake AI to make himself look exactly like actor Keanu Reeves. Using Deepfake is not dissimilar to performing as a VTuber and Twitch has been a popular place for VTubers for a few years. Though, Twitch has recently been criticized for labeling VTubers as AI.
Keanu Reeves is no stranger to Deepfake, as he has been the subject of quite a few Deepfake clips on YouTube. The concept even feels somewhat similar to the “scramble suit,” a device featured in the rotoscoped movie A Scanner Darkly, in which Reeves starred. The “scramble suit” allows its wearer to hide behind an ever-changing face and body that is randomly generated. Deepfake is something that usually stays in the movies and TV world, with reports of Bruce Willis selling his image rights so that he never needs to act again, although Willis has recently denied selling his Deepfake image rights. The ease of access to Deepfake technology is growing, and with it many people are recreating movie trailers or interviews with different actors in place.
Now that it is so easy to use Deepfake, it’s likely that there will be more Twitch streamers doing just as streamer NymN did. In the clip, Keanu’s stern face replaces NymN’s seamlessly. Without prior knowledge, one might believe that Reeves really was in his PC room, flossing like a Fortnite character, especially considering that he has recently been uploading a lot of funny short clips to YouTube. One big giveaway is when NymN quotes Reeves’ iconic “you’re breathtaking,” and the voice is clearly not that of the Hollywood actor.
“You’re breathtaking” is of course a reference to Keanu’s quick and warmhearted response to a fan calling out the same thing to him at Microsoft's Xbox E3 2019 press conference in promotion of Cyberpunk 2077. While not the main character of the game, Reeves has been the face of the video game, and Keanu is set to return to the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty expansion as Johnny Silverhand.
Many people have loved Keanu Reeves as long as they have known him as an actor, and many have loved his relaxed and sage attitude outside of his work. Keanu was even very level-headed and worldly in his response to Matthew Perry’s tasteless death joke. While there was a brief time in which Reeves’ stern acting style was widely considered to be too flat, Perry seems to have been the only person in the world that has directed any malice towards the Bill and Ted actor. Due to his general aura of positivity, and his connection to video games, it’s likely that there will be many more Deepfake Twitch streams featuring Keanu Reeves.