Starfield and Deus Ex voice actor Elias Toufexis has a quite simple message to anybody considering of utilizing AI-powered mods so as to add characters he has performed to different video games: Don’t try this, really. It’s a subject the actor has spoken about earlier than, and one he’s extraordinarily obsessed with.
In early July, a consumer on Twitter posted that folks ought to obtain a mod that replaces the primary character’s voice in Cyberpunk 2077 with that of Adam Jensen, the protagonist of the 2 most up-to-date Deus Ex video games, utilizing AI. In addition they advised customizing the primary character to appear like the Deus Ex character. They claimed that in case you took these steps, it might flip CD Projekt Crimson’s 2020 open-world RPG right into a “fairly convincing” Deus Ex sport. A month later, on August 2, this tweet got here to the eye of Jensen’s voice actor, Toufexis, and he had a easy, clear reply to this concept: “No. Don’t fucking try this.”
No. Don’t fucking try this. https://t.co/vQolcAP3Tg
— Elias Toufexis (@EliasToufexis) August 2, 2025
When one other Twitter consumer requested Toufexis, who voiced Sam Cole in 2023’s Starfield, why they shouldn’t use the AI mod so as to add Jensen to Cyberpunk 2077, the voice actor replied: “You going to pay me for utilizing my voice?”
The voice substitute mod for Cyberpunk 2077 talked about within the authentic tweet was uploaded to the web in October 2023. Its creator states that they imply no disrespect to Toufexis and claims that if the voice actor ever reached out to them and demanded it’s eliminated, the modder would comply. “I might by no means need somebody to really feel like I’m robbing them of their proper to personal and dictate when or how their voice is for use,” defined the modder. It’s not clear if Toufexis has reached out to the modder but.
Adam Jensen appeared in 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution and its 2016 sequel, Mankind Divided. The brooding cyborg badass grew to become well-known for his raspy, deep voice and has remained a fan favourite. Toufexis loves speaking concerning the character, a lot in order that he was informed to cease by collection builders Edios Montreal in 2020. In 2024, a brand new, unannounced Deus Ex sport was reportedly canceled by Embracer Group.
That is removed from the primary time Toufexis has spoken about AI era instruments getting used to interchange voice actors. In a 2023 interview with Kotaku, Jensen’s iconic voice actor referred to as AI a “software that steals from different individuals’s work.”
“I truthfully really feel that AI can not exchange actual actors in the long term,” mentioned Toufexis. “However it may well take away a complete slew of jobs that usually go to actors. Huge roles like Sam [from Starfield] are most likely protected. AI is only a software that steals from different individuals’s work and tries to create actuality. Nevertheless it’s not actuality, and I imagine individuals will know the distinction and wish the actual factor. However it could take a while. I have a look at it like NFTs or 3D TVs. There shall be a short while the place individuals idiot round with the brand new tech, however finally they’ll understand how pretend it’s.”
He additionally defined that if he catches individuals utilizing AI to recreate his voice for revenue or promotion, he’ll ask them to cease. In the event that they do, that would be the finish of it. Nevertheless, in the event that they proceed, he’ll go after them, telling Kotaku in 2023: “We’ve got to guard actors from substitute. It’s a harmful slope. If my voice will be changed, that’s nearly actually resulting in taking meals out of my children’ mouths. This can be a large a part of my livelihood.”
