Are Movie Stars typically forbidden from appearing in future commercials resembling a played character?
Maybe no one around here would know the answer to this, or maybe it varies wildly, but I'm curious to know whether or not it's typical for movie stars to be forbidden from resembling the character that they played in a movie, in a commercial (outside of commercials for the movie itself or agreed to specifically by the company that own/creates the movie).
Can Morgan Freeman come back, for example, as God in that white suit from Bruce Almighty and tell everyone that Coke is better than Pepsi?
Or can Leonardo DiCaprio, as Jack Dawson of Titanic, float by on a wooden plank, perhaps, claiming that cruises are done better via Carnival on the Caribbean?
Best Answer
Outside of officially licensed appearances, it would be copyright/trademark infringement and illegal.
Movie studios own the characters in the films. The actors do not.
Unless the actors get specific permission from the studio to appear as their character, it's generally not allowed as someone will get sued over it.
Could Johnny Depp appear in a commercial as a generic pirate or as a generic version of Tonto?
Maybe... but it's iffy territory.
Could Chris Pratt show up in a commercial in his Starlord costume? Not without first getting clearance from Marvel/Disney.
Oh, and for fun, let me point out that it works the other way, too...
If you've ever watched any indie films, you may notice that nothing has brand logos... Crews spend a lot of time making sure that any identifiable branding/packaging is removed because they don't want to get sued for using the brand in the film without permission... not that it's necessarily illegal. Companies can get very protective of their brand image and, if they feel it is maligned, they are likely to get very litigious.
It's also why ET liked the relatively unfamiliar candy Reese's Pieces instead of the much more popular M&Ms... M&M/Mars refused to give Spielberg permission but Reese's was happy for the exposure and benefited greatly from it... and they didn't even pay for it!
There is an exception that applies to copyright under fair use... The most commonly found is the character in satire/parody... though this wouldn't be likely appear in a commercial, it is acceptable to use a copyrighted character to be used if it's clear that it's being done as a parody... the most easy example is when characters appear on shows like Saturday Night Live
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Answer 2
It's all about contracts, there is no hard and fast rule. It can also depend on where the advert is being aired.
For example: Harvey Keitel is currently playing Winston Wolf (from Pulp Fiction) in adverts for a big insurance company in the UK (and he announces himself by name as per the film, so it's not just implied).
Answer 3
I have seen a commercial recently featuring Mr. T from The A team. I realize this is a series rather than a movie, but I guess it means that everything is possible.
I don't think it is freely possible, but why wouldn't the people holding the rights agree if it allows them to make some more money.
If you are thinking about initiatives that the rights owners do not agree to: Those are definitely not allowed. I recently heard that someone was not even allowed to use his real name in a show because he already used it in a different show, and the owners of that show held the rights.
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