{"id":510469,"date":"2026-03-03T00:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T00:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/510469\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T00:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T00:25:14","slug":"creator-of-tilly-norwood-ai-generated-actor-launching-the-tillyverse-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/510469\/","title":{"rendered":"Creator of Tilly Norwood, AI-generated \u2018actor,\u2019 launching the \u2018Tillyverse\u2019 – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hollywood is facing a new kind of star power with \u201cAI<\/a> actor\u201d Tilly Norwood<\/a> and the newly announced \u201cTillyverse,\u201d a digital world where artificial intelligence characters can collaborate and build AI acting careers.<\/p>\n

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Norwood\u2019s creator Eline van der Velden, a Dutch producer and comedian, said she is planning a \u201crapid expansion\u201d for her digital acting creation by building a universe around her.<\/p>\n

Van der Velden will be joined by Prime Video\u2019s Mark Whelan as head of strategy of the Tillyverse and operations at her new AI talent studio Xiocia, Variety reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAI-generated \u2018actress\u2019 Tilly Norwood sparks Hollywood backlash\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Whelan will help create the Tillyverse, set to launch later in 2026 and described in a press release as a \u201cdynamic, constantly evolving digital universe where Tilly and a new generation of AI characters will live, collaborate and build careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Xiocia is \u201cbuilding IP at scale and redefining how talent is created, developed and experienced in the AI era,\u201d according to the press release.<\/p>\n

The plan is to also create \u201cbespoke AI talent\u201d for third parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cTilly Norwood isn\u2019t just an AI character \u2014 she\u2019s a personality, a brand, and a future global superstar with a compelling narrative arc. Mark will help us craft and shape every layer of her world, from her humour, daily life and career choices to how she interacts with fans across various platforms. It all promises to be bold, playful, a little chaotic \u2013 and impossible to ignore,\u201d Van der Velden said.<\/p>\n

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Whelan said Tilly, a character made entirely by artificial intelligence, \u201calready has the momentum, an audience and the cultural spark.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cNow we\u2019re writing her story and building her universe. It\u2019s a huge responsibility \u2014 but an incredibly exciting one. I think the world is going to have a lot of fun watching what happens next,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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Norwood was first announced last October<\/a> after she started negotiating with talent agencies.<\/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

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Not everyone was excited about Norwood potentially signing with a talent agency.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0a statement<\/a>, the Screen Actors Guild said that \u201ccreativity is, and should remain, human-centered.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\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

In response to the backlash, Van der Velden\u00a0shared 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 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

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\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

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