The article examines the interaction between acting craft and artificial intelligence as a driver reshaping creative practice and professional identity. The aim is to analyze the historico-technological evolution of means for recording performance, to juxtapose the developmental trajectories of capture technologies and generative media, and to assess the legal and ethical consequences of the emergence of digital replicas. Methodologically, the study draws on historical retrospection, a comparative analysis of technical trajectories, a regulatory-legal review, and a content analysis of industry cases and surveys. Key findings indicate that AI is ceasing to be merely a tool and is becoming a co-author in the artistic process: the actor’s body is decomposed into coordinates, textures, and temporal layers, which requires new competencies (techno-literacy, work with sensors, understanding of licensing terms). Meanwhile, great risks are defined: loss of control over one’s image, labor displacements, and the ethical quandaries of digital resurrection-across great opportunities-greater inclusion, remote casting, and long-term preservation of nuance in digital archives. That gives this study its practical weight in arguing for an upgrade in actors’ technical-professional training and initiating regulation of rights to digital replicas and production process design critically so that algorithms move from being a threat to being a resource. The article will be helpful to theater and cinema practitioners, media and technology researchers, unions, and producers.