Sometimes, commercials are so fearless and inventive that you might fail to see what sets them apart. An NBA legend, Charles Barkley, appeared in a new commercial for FanDuel in 2023, showcasing how great it is to wager on your favorite player through the mobile app. Additionally, he is certain where he would put his money: “Young Chuck,” who is seated next to him. And that raised the following query: Since “Young Chuck” is not now participating in the NBA, who is he? Let’s read this article to learn the unexpected response.
The 2023 FanDuel commercial with Charles Barkley: who’s Young Chuck?
The FanDuel commercial released in April 2023 stars an NBA legend, Charles Barkley. Next to him is sitting an athlete named “Young Chuck”: he’s the younger version of himself, recreated with the deepfake technology. Charles Barkley was nicknamed “Chuck” when he was younger: “Young Chuck” represents himself when he played for the Phoenix Suns between 1992 and 1998. You will recognize him better in this article on NBA.com.
Using artificial intelligence, the deepfake technology replaces a person’s facial features with those of another person. It’s regarded as a contentious approach, especially given the recently available realistic quality. Deepfake movies can now be abused in various ways since they appear so real. For instance, they can be used to create Internet messages shared by well-known people that influence public opinion.
Of course, there is no harm in the instance of the FanDuel advertisement, where Charley Barkley is speaking with a younger version of himself that was produced next to him by swapping a real actor’s features with those from old photos of him playing for the Phoenix Suns.
The final issue was giving Young Chuck a voice that was distinct from Charles Barkley’s voice today. Danny Rouhier, the presenter of The Grant & Danny Show on 106.7 The Fan, a sports radio station in Washington, D.C., voiced Young Chuck in the FanDuel commercial. And it’s odd that FanDuel picked Danny to play Young Chuck because in 2021, he gained notoriety for impersonating Charles Barkley in a game analysis. Rouhier was even invited to interview Charles Barkley in person in 2021 as a result of the success of his video; you can watch the conversation here on YouTube.
You now know that Charles Barkley, who was around twenty years old, was actually Young Chuck.