Hollywood actors are voicing strong anger after the unveiling of Tilly Norwood, a computer-generated “AI actress” created in the Netherlands.
Tilly, who looks like a young rising star, has been presented online with demo reels, fake headshots, and even staged appearances on shows like the Graham Norton Show. Her creators described her as having “girl next door vibes” and claimed she is already in talks with talent agencies.
The project was launched by Dutch comedian and actor Eline Van der Velden, who said she wanted Norwood to become “the next Scarlett Johansson.” On Instagram, Van der Velden defended the creation, writing, “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 is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art.”
But Hollywood stars and unions have reacted sharply. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) condemned the project, warning that it threatens the jobs and creativity of real actors.
In a statement, the union said, “Norwood is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers. 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.”
The union also reminded studios and agencies that bringing Norwood into projects could violate protections secured during the 2023 Hollywood strikes, which were largely driven by fears over AI. “It doesn’t solve any problem — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing livelihoods and devaluing human artistry,” the statement added.
Oscar-nominated actress Emily Blunt described the AI creation as terrifying when shown clips of Norwood. “That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed,” she said during a Variety podcast. “That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop taking away our human connection.”
Actress Natasha Lyonne, star of Poker Face and Russian Doll, also urged a boycott of any agency that chooses to work with Norwood. “Any talent agency that engages in this should be boycotted by all guilds. Deeply misguided and totally disturbed,” she said.
Comedian and actress Whoopi Goldberg, speaking on the US talk show The View, said audiences could easily tell the difference between synthetic creations and real performers. “They move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently,” she said, adding that Hollywood should not assume AI could truly replace human actors.
The backlash grew louder after trade publication Deadline reported that Van der Velden presented Tilly at a summit in Zurich last weekend, where she also introduced her AI talent agency called Xicoia. She suggested that big Hollywood studios were quietly exploring AI projects and hinted that official announcements would follow soon.
Norwood’s social media has faced criticism as well. Some Instagram users argued that calling the AI “she” was misleading, while others demanded transparency about which real actors’ likenesses were used to build the AI model, insisting those performers deserve royalties.
