Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated “actress,” has set off a loud reaction in Hollywood. Dutch actor and producer Eline Van der Velden created Tilly through her AI talent studio Xicoia at Particle6. Some talent agencies are showing interest, while many actors and a major union object.
Agencies’ interest and creator’s goal
Van der Velden said multiple talent agencies want to represent Tilly. According to Yahoo Entertainment, Gersh Agency president Leslie Siebert replied, “We’re not going to be that agency.”
Tilly first appeared in a two-minute comedy sketch, “AI Commissioner.” Van der Velden said she used 10 different AI programs, including a ChatGPT-generated script. She called Tilly the first “actor” from Xicoia, a division of her U.K.-based company Particle6.
Van der Velden has also set high aims. She said she hopes to make Tilly “the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.” She posted that audiences care about story, not whether the star “has a pulse.”
How the sketch and studio fit the plan
The sketch served as a proof of concept for Xicoia’s approach. Van der Velden described Tilly as “a creative work — a piece of art.” She said the “age of synthetic actors” is already here.
Backlash from actors and SAG-AFTRA
Actors challenged the project in strong terms. Melissa Barrera called it “gross” and urged actors to drop any agency that signs Tilly. Emily Blunt said it was “really, really scary,” and asked agencies not to support it.
Mara Wilson raised questions about sourcing. She wrote about the “hundreds of living young women” whose faces were composited and asked why none were hired. Whoopi Goldberg told The View that an AI “actor” could never replace humans and said people can tell the difference.
Natasha Lyonne, who co-founded an “ethical” AI studio, posted a vomit emoji over Tilly’s face and called for a boycott by all guilds. “Deeply misguided & totally disturbed,” she wrote. “Not the way. Not the vibe. Not the use.”
SAG-AFTRA issued a formal statement. The guild called Tilly a “synthetic” trained on countless actors’ work “without permission or compensation.” It said such use “creates the problem of using stolen performances” and warned that studios must give notice and negotiate before using AI performers.
