Gene Wilder voice deepfake — Sep 2026

The late actor Gene Wilder has returned to the screen in the Netflix series Wonka's The Golden Ticket, with his voice recreated using artificial intelligence. This production marks the final appearance of original Oompa Loompa actor Rusty Goffe, who reprised his role 55 years after his debut in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

What happened

In the new Netflix competition series, the voice of Gene Wilder, who passed away in 2016, is used to narrate the show and explain various games to contestants. The production utilized AI technology to synthesize Wilder's voice for the role. According to reports, the producers obtained formal consent from Wilder's estate and secured approval from his widow, Karen B. Wilder, prior to the implementation of the voice recreation. While the use of the technology has received some criticism, co-star Rusty Goffe described the experience of hearing the AI-generated voice on set as magical, noting that it felt as if his former colleague was present behind him during filming.