'AI actor' Tilly Norwood stirs outrage in Hollywood
[October 01, 2025]
By JAKE COYLE
NEW YORK (AP) — Like thousands of actors, Tilly Norwood is looking for a
Hollywood agent.
But unlike most young performers aspiring to make it in the film
industry, Tilly Norwood is an entirely artificial intelligence-made
character. Norwood, dubbed Hollywood's first “AI actor,” is the product
of a company named Xicoia, which bills itself as the world's first
artificial intelligence talent studio.
Since the Dutch producer and comedian Eline Van der Velden launched the
digital character's prospective career, Tilly Norwood has been all the
talk in Hollywood.
But not in a good way. Guilds, actors and filmmakers have met the Xicoia
product with an immediate wave of backlash, protesting that artificial
intelligence should not have a starring role in the acting profession.
In a statement Tuesday, the Screen Actors Guild said that “creativity
is, and should remain, human-centered.”
“To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character
generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of
countless professional performers — without permission or compensation,”
the guild said. “It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and,
from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching
computer-generated content untethered from the human experience.”
Van der Velden, founder of the AI production studio Particle6, last
weekend promoted Tilly Norwood at the Zurich Summit, the industry
sidebar of the Zurich Film Festival. She said then that talent agencies
were circling Norwood and that she expected to soon announce a signing.
Many in Hollywood, though, hope that never happens.
“Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$,”
wrote actor Melissa Barrera (“In the Heights,” “Scream”) on social
media. “How gross, read the room.”
“Any talent agency that engages in this should be boycotted by all
guilds,” wrote Natasha Lyonne on Instagram. The “Russian Doll” star is
directing a feature titled “Uncanny Valley” that pledges to use
“ethical” artificial intelligence in combination with traditional
filmmaking techniques. “Deeply misguided & totally disturbed,” she
added. “Not the way. Not the vibe. Not the use.”
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SAG-AFTRA picketers carry signs outside NBC in Rockefeller Center on
July 17, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP,
File)
 Artificial intelligence is often
used as a tool in film production, though its implementation is
hotly debated. It was a major bargaining point in the lengthy strike
by SAG-AFTRA that concluded in late 2023 with some safeguards put in
place to protect the use of actors' likenesses and performances by
AI. A yearlong strike by video game actors hinged on AI protections.
In July, video game actors approved a new contract that mandates
employers obtain written permission to create a digital replica.
But there have been numerous controversies over the use of AI in
acting. The Oscar-winning 2024 film “The Brutalist” used artificial
intelligence for Hungarian dialogue spoken by Adrien Brody and
Felicity Jones’ characters, the revelation of which prompted debate
in the industry.
Van der Velden responded to the stir around Tilly Norwood on
Instagram.
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI
character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human
being, but a creative work — a piece of art,” Van der Velden said on
Sunday. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation,
and that in itself shows the power of creativity.”
Van der Velden didn't respond to interview requests Tuesday. In her
post, she argued that AI characters should be judged as their own
genre.
“Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and
craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or
shaping a performance,” she added. “It takes time, skill and
iteration to bring such a character to life.”
That statement was also shared on Tilly Norwood's own Instagram
account. Posts include photos of the creation drinking coffee,
shopping for clothes and preparing for various projects. As of
Tuesday, the account had more than 33,000 followers.
“Had such a blast filming some screen tests recently,” one post
reads. “Every day feels like a step closer to the big screen.”
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