Hollywood heroes meet 1980s photo trend: Tom Cruise to Brad Pitt to Leonardo DiCaprio, netizens reimagine stars as vintage ’80s heroes using latest AI prompt

What would Leonardo DiCaprio look like as the leading man of a gritty 1980s action movie? Or Brad Pitt with voluminous hair, an old-school leather jacket and the grainy finish of an analogue camera? Social media's latest AI obsession is giving users a chance to find out, as Hollywood's biggest names get transported several decades into the past. Read on to find more details.

Hollywood gets an AI-powered retro makeover

The 1980s AI photo trend, also being called the “Glorious ’80s” trend, has taken over Instagram, with users uploading photographs and asking AI tools such as ChatGPT to recreate them as if they were shot four decades ago. The results range from glamorous studio portraits and magazine covers to cinematic movie stills. Netizens are now experimenting with Hollywood favourites such as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Keanu Reeves and Chris Hemsworth.

The formula is simple: preserve the celebrity's recognisable features while adding quintessential ’80s touches: big hair, leather jackets, high-waisted trousers, aviator sunglasses, dramatic studio lighting and visible film grain. For Tom Cruise, the ’80s look is actually familiar.


Of all the Hollywood stars receiving the treatment, Tom Cruise has perhaps the most authentic connection to the decade. Cruise became one of Hollywood's defining young stars during the 1980s, with Risky Business arriving in 1983 before Top Gun turned him into an international superstar in 1986. Paramount describes Top Gun as a film that “defined the essential ’80s blockbuster”. It became the highest-grossing film of 1986 and earned more than $357 million worldwide. Its fashion proved equally influential. Forbes notes that Maverick's G-1 flight jacket and aviator sunglasses helped bring military-inspired aviator style to a much wider audience.

Why are these AI pictures suddenly everywhere?

Unlike a standard Instagram filter, the trend doesn't simply make an existing photograph look older. AI can change the hairstyle, clothes, lighting and entire setting while attempting to retain the person's identity. The Indian Express reports that the trend has spread across Instagram and X, following other viral AI crazes such as Studio Ghibli-inspired portraits and collectable figurines. Users are also sharing prompts through Instagram Stories and the “Add Yours” feature, encouraging others to create their own versions.

How to create a Hollywood ’80s hero look

Users can upload a clear photograph to ChatGPT and describe the exact transformation they want, for example, a leather jacket, feathered hairstyle, neon-lit Los Angeles street, vintage sports car, soft focus and 35mm film grain. The more specific the instructions, the more controlled the resulting aesthetic can be.