Eric Dane was 'visibly emotional' over AI voice restoration project
What's the story
Rebecca Gayheart, the widow of late actor Eric Dane, has opened up about a "powerful moment" they shared shortly before his tragic death last month. In an interview with Variety, she revealed that Dane had been working on a voice restoration project with AI company ElevenLabs in the weeks leading up to his passing. The project aimed to create a synthetic replica of Dane's voice using past recordings as he struggled with communication due to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
Project details
'It was a powerful moment'
Gayheart, 54, said that Dane was "really excited" about the voice restoration project as it became urgent for him to communicate. The project was a final effort for him to leave something behind for his teenage daughters, Billie and Georgia. "He was waiting anxiously to hear it, and when we got it from ElevenLabs it was a really big moment," Gayheart said. "It was a powerful moment."
Emotional response
Gayheart: When I heard it, I cried
Gayheart further revealed that when they played the restored voice, Dane became "visibly emotional." "And when I heard it, I cried. I think everyone in the room did." The project was part of ElevenLabs's Impact Program, which provides free licenses to individuals with accessibility needs. The company also produced a docuseries titled 11 Voices in connection with the project, which Dane was supposed to star in but couldn't due to his deteriorating condition.
Advocacy
Gayheart to speak on panel at docuseries's SXSW premiere
Despite Dane's inability to participate in the docuseries, Gayheart plans to speak on a panel at its SXSW premiere on Friday. "He wanted to advocate for love and for the movement [around ALS], and so I'm there to do this for him," she said. "For a million people to get a voice to be able to communicate with their children or their loved ones or their caretakers or their doctors or in their job...this is a really huge movement."
Community support
Gayheart on support from Hollywood community
Gayheart also expressed her gratitude for the support her family got, "I'm having trouble receiving all of the support and love coming at me from every which way because of Eric and the [entertainment] community that's so generous with their time," she said in a statement. "Hollywood gets a bad rap. That kind of makes me mad, because we have a lovely community of people, and I'm so grateful for them." Dane, 53, passed away on February 19.