The voices of childhood do not surrender! An interview with Brigitte Lecordier

Brigitte Lecordier s'oppose au clonage vocal sans accord. Les comédiens de doublage réclament une protection juridique de leur empreinte sonore.

There is something in a voice that no machine will ever be able to imitate: a breath, a flaw, a grain of emotion. Brigitte Lecordier built her career on this precious fragility, which raised generations of children to the rhythm of her characters. With her son Louis, she continues on this path today. But it is no longer time for games: facing AI, they are speaking up to defend a profession, a memory, and a cultural heritage that would be dangerous to sacrifice.

Brigitte, you are the voice of our childhood, of several childhoods even... and today, you have become the voice of a fight. What pushed you to publicly say: "Don't touch my French dubbing"?

BL: We’ve seen AI gaining ground for two or three years now, while people were scraping our voices off social media to make us say just about anything. People find it amusing, but we explained to them that we don't find it funny—it’s our job, our working tool, our form of expression. At some point, we need to set boundaries and get traceability: knowing when our voices are used, where, by whom, and with our consent. What we want above all is to keep working, not to sit at home listening to ourselves and collecting royalties. We are artists: our voice, our body, that’s our way of expressing ourselves, with stories to tell and things to say.

LL: Beyond the misuses, we’ve seen downright problematic uses (racist, homophobic, sexualized content) featuring well-known voices. Then big companies started openly bringing up the idea of using our voices. The question becomes: who owns the data? For how long? With what compensation, if any?

Your movement has gained unprecedented momentum, with the support of tens of thousands of signatories and a degree of media coverage. But politically, do you feel heard? I am thinking in particular of the reactions during the AI counter-summit in February 2025.

BL: At the Ministry of Culture, it’s mostly answers about "rights"... whereas our demand is primarily ethical and structural. Right now, it's radio silence regarding a clear meeting.

LL: Compensation at one-billionth of a voice "mixed" into a model? Unmanageable. And even with consent, a license can end up being reused for content one doesn't approve of. The case of Alain Dorval (Stallone's voice) used by an AI service, for example.

If you could, starting tomorrow, write three lines into law to regulate AI in dubbing, what would the text say?

BL: Traceability and explicit consent, first and foremost.

LL: Ban text-to-speech for dubbing: humans must be dubbed by humans. On the other hand, minor technical tweaks (a pick-up, a mispronounced name) could be discussed on a case-by-case basis, with the artist's written approval. And we could go through a decree on the CNC side: requiring French studios to use "human performers and human authors."

BL: A generation grew up with our voices. We cannot let the next one grow up with robots! Otherwise, what are we passing on?

Internationally, particularly in Japan, voices are also being raised against the automation of dubbing. Are you in touch with these movements? What protections are emerging elsewhere in the world that could inspire us?

LL: Yes: United Voice Artists brings together about forty countries. After our video "Touche pas à ma VF" (over 20 million views), Italy, Japan, and Germany launched their own campaigns. In France, the petition passed 250,000 signatures. We are applying pressure at the European level.

BL: Adami reacted very quickly and offered an opt-out to its 45,000 artists; we also raised awareness with Arcom. We are setting up numerous meetings.

Have you ever been faced with training contracts?

BL: A lot in video games: side quests require "giving" one's voice to AI once the role is recorded. Those who refuse are recast.

LL: We are pushing our contacts to include the AI clause from the French Artists' Union. Progress is being made: more actors are aware, some productions accept the clause... otherwise, everything comes to a standstill.

You are meeting / training young artists today. What is their relationship to these new practices? Do some of them accept these training contracts? If so, are they aware of what they are signing?

BL: Young actors are determined to see their craft endure. Overall, they know what they’re doing, even if, as in any movement, some aren’t on board. But the majority stands with us. I want to pass on to them what I received. My voice is well-known, I could sign everything, but without training the next generation, it would be pointless. For years, I’ve been including young actors in my casts so they can learn alongside more seasoned ones. Theater pays very little; dubbing pays a bit more and allows one to make a living in this profession. Dubbing is vital for them. The problem is that bit parts and background voices, essential steps for training, are increasingly being handed over to AI.

LL: And often under the pretext of a lack of budget, even though these are multi-million-dollar productions. These roles are being replaced by generated voices, with mediocre results. In certain video games, you can hear the difference right away: flawless lead roles, but NPCs with AI voices that are flat and absurd. Players notice it immediately.

For you who are in the field, in the process of passing on knowledge: have you identified cases where these tools were able to facilitate the work, without harming the craft?

BL: As long as AI remains a tool and doesn't replace humans in the artistic process, I have no problem with it.

LL: The danger lies in using it as an excuse to replace an absent actor for an entire episode or season. For one-off cases, why not: if, in a series, a name was mispronounced and needs to be corrected across all episodes, an agreement could be considered to do it with AI. But it must remain exceptional and strictly regulated.

BL: In fact, it's kind of thanks to that type of situation that I got started in dubbing. On a show, a child's role had been misrecorded all summer—they were saying