{"id":183284,"date":"2025-10-01T19:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T19:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/183284\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T19:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T19:43:13","slug":"tilly-norwood-an-ai-generated-actor-faces-hollywood-celebrity-backlash-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/183284\/","title":{"rendered":"Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated \u2018actor,\u2019 faces Hollywood, celebrity backlash – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hollywood is facing a new kind of star power with \u201cAI<\/a> actor\u201d Tilly Norwood<\/a>, who doesn\u2019t exist outside of code \u2014 and she\u2019s already negotiating with talent agencies.<\/p>\n

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Norwood is a character made entirely by artificial intelligence, dubbed Hollywood\u2019s first \u201cAI actor.\u201d She is the product of a company named Xicoia, which bills itself as the world\u2019s first artificial intelligence<\/a> talent studio.<\/p>\n

Since Dutch producer and comedian Eline Van der Velden launched the digital character\u2019s prospective career, Norwood has been the talk of Hollywood.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Van der Velden, founder of the AI production studio Particle6, promoted Norwood at the Zurich Summit, the industry sidebar of the Zurich Film Festival. She said Norwood was in talks with talent agencies and that she expected to announce a signing soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were in a lot of boardrooms around February time, and everyone was like, \u2018No, this is nothing. It\u2019s not going to happen.\u2019 Then, by May, people were like, \u2018We need to do something with you guys,\u201d Van der Velden told Deadline\u2019s Diana Lodderhose<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen we first launched Tilly, people were like, \u2018What\u2019s that?\u2019 and now we\u2019re going to be announcing which agency is going to be representing her in the next few months.\u201d<\/p>\n

But not everyone is excited about Norwood potentially signing with a talent agency.<\/p>\n

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In a statement Tuesday<\/a>, the Screen Actors Guild said that \u201ccreativity is, and should remain, human-centered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be clear, \u2018Tilly Norwood\u2019 is not an actor, it\u2019s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers \u2014 without permission or compensation,\u201d the guild said. \u201cIt has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we\u2019ve seen, audiences aren\u2019t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cHope all actors repped by the agent that does this , drop their a$$,\u201d In The Heights actor Melissa Barrera wrote on her Instagram Stories. \u201cHow gross, read the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny talent agency that engages in this should be boycotted by all guilds. Deeply misguided & totally disturbed,\u201d Natasha Lyonne wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

Emily Blunt spoke about Norwood during an episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast<\/a>, referring to the idea of an AI actor as \u201cterrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes it disappoint me? I don\u2019t know how to quite answer it, other than to say how terrifying this is,\u201d Blunt said.<\/p>\n

When Blunt was shown a photo of Norwood, she said, \u201cNo, are you serious? That\u2019s an AI? Good Lord, we\u2019re screwed. That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don\u2019t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blunt also suggested that Norwood\u2019s creators want her to be \u201cthe next Scarlett Johansson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we have Scarlett Johansson,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

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Whoopi Goldberg opened up about her thoughts on Norwood during Monday\u2019s episode of\u00a0The View.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem with this, in my humble opinion, is that you\u2019re up against something that\u2019s been generated with 5,000 other actors. It\u2019s been given all of these \u2014 it\u2019s got Bette Davis\u2019s attitude \u2026 it\u2019s got my humour,\u201d she began.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of an unfair advantage. But you know what? Bring it on,\u201d Goldberg said. \u201cBecause you can always tell them from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In response to the backlash, Van der Velden shared a statement<\/a> on Norwood\u2019s Instagram, writing, \u201cTo those who have expressed anger over the creation of our AI character, Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work \u2013 a piece of art.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity,\u201d Van der Velden continued. \u201cI see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool \u2013 a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van der Velden, who is also an actor, said that nothing can take away \u201cthe craft or joy of human performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCreating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping performance. It takes time, skill, and iteration to bring such a character to life,\u201d she wrote. \u201cShe represents experimentation, not substitution. Much of my work has always been about holding up a mirror to society through satire, and this is no different.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Van der Velden said she believes that AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre and on their own merits rather than compared directly with \u201chuman actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEach form of art has its place, and each can be valued for what it uniquely brings. I hope we can welcome AI as part of the wider artistic family: one more way to express ourselves, alongside theatre, film, painting, music, and countless others,\u201d she wrote. \u201cWhen we celebrate all forms of creativity, we open doors to new voices, new stories, and new ways of connecting with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019 likenesses and performances by AI.<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from The Associated Press<\/p>\n

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