The Death of the Actor and the Resurrection of the Dead: AI, Cinema, and the end of Embodied Performance

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) and synthetic media technologies is reshaping performance within the cultural industries. This study contends that AI is fundamentally altering film performance in two principal ways. First, it facilitates the symbolic and material displacement of human, embodied performers, which is conceptualized as the “Death of the Actor. “ Second, it enables the digital resurrection or reanimation of deceased or de-aged actors (here termed the ‘resurrection of the dead,’ where ‘resurrection’ means digitally reconstructing an actor’s likeness using archival footage or data). These developments represent a significant ontological shift. They redefine the core of acting as it transitions from human expression to a domain where performance is encoded and preserved as data, through the analysis of four case studies: Beowulf (2007), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), Fast & Furious 7 (2015), and Rekhachitram (2025). This paper traces the evolution of performance from motion capture or performance capture to AI-driven synthetic actors. Integrating media theory, cultural analysis, and case study interpretation, this paper examines the evolution of cinema from a performance-based art form to a simulated performance on screen. The central argument presented in this paper is that the widespread adoption of AI in film production constitutes not merely a technical advancement but an ontological redefinition of performance, as acting is increasingly separated from the living body and embedded within digital code in contemporary film production practices globally. These transformations have substantial implications for Acting, spectatorship, creative labor rights, authorship, and the ethics of digital immortality, as AI technologies now allow actors to appear on screen without their physical presence or mortality, further blurring the lines between creative and synthetic performances on screen.