Hollywood is fuming over a new AI actress

Question

After an artificial intelligence-generated “actress” drew intense backlash from human actors, the character’s maker says it’s not meant to replace people. But many in Hollywood aren’t buying it.

It’s just the latest movie-industry feud over a technology that many creatives worry has stolen their work and could eventually replace them.

“Tilly Norwood” looks like a young woman with wavy brown hair and clear skin who, since February, has posted on Instagram much like any other Gen Z influencer. She’s pursuing an acting career — and recently posted about doing “screen tests” in hopes of landing a gig. But Tilly Norwood isn’t a real person, she’s AI-generated, created by Eline Van Der Velden, founder of AI startup Particle6, which says it creates “digital content” for film and TV.

In a recent post, AI Tilly bragged that “in 20 seconds I fought monsters, fled explosions, sold you a car, and nearly won an Oscar. All in a day’s work… literally! Find yourself an actress who can do it all,” along with the hashtag #AIActress.

Answer 1

This is actually true, there were multiple tweets in response to this claim on X by a series of actors, it was also commented on by CNN and a handful of other notable sources and journalists. It was actually created by the company Xicoia which is an AI division of Particle6. There work was unveiled at a Zurich film festival. Which is where it caught tons of attention from Hollywood and actors. 

Sources that commented on this claim very a lot from CNN, WRAL, WCOV, aicomissions.org, and many more. They all center back to CNN mains headline or quote it in some way. here are some quotes I found that further claim this new AI "Actress" is actually a real thing and not some social prank. 

"In a recent post, AI Tilly bragged that “in 20 seconds I fought monsters, fled explosions, sold you a car, and nearly won an Oscar. All in a day’s work… literally! Find yourself an actress who can do it all,” along with the hashtag #AIActress." -New York (CNN)

This was the main headliner in CNNs post, now let's focus on the X replies from real Hollywood actors

"“Wow … no thanks,” Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner said in one comment." (CNN)

“This is incredibly thoughtless and frankly disturbing,” wrote actor Cameron Cowperthwaite, who appeared in “Shameless” and “American Horror Story.” “I hope this backfires in every way humanly and well… Non humanly possible.” (CNN)

Ralph Ineson, who acted in “Nosferatu” and other films, responded to news of the project with a concise X post: “F**k off.”

However, the creator's response on Tillies Instagram told everyone that Shes not meant to replace human actors. But by the way Shes presented on the media and her first insta post

 "In a recent post, AI Tilly bragged that “in 20 seconds I fought monsters, fled explosions, sold you a car, and nearly won an Oscar. All in a day’s work… literally! Find yourself an actress who can do it all,” along with the hashtag #AIActress." (CNN)

So, by that we can see it seems like "replacement" was in the grand scheme and first introduction. 

in conclusion we can see this is true from the mass coverage on the topic and the inclusion of real tweet involved in the matter as well as an Instagram account made for tilly under the user @tillynorwood. 

this was also covered by TechCrunch and Complex, along with Yahoo even adding some information to the pool. 

(resources to check for more information)

Duffy, Clare. “Hollywood Is Fuming over a New “AI Actress.”” CNN, 30 Sept. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/tech/hollywood-ai-actor-backlash.

‌Silberling, Amanda. “Hollywood Is Not Taking Kindly to the AI-Generated Actress Tilly Norwood | TechCrunch.” TechCrunch, Oct. 2025, techcrunch.com/2025/10/01/hollywood-is-not-taking-kindly-to-the-ai-generated-actress-tilly-norwood/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.

‌Mcbride, Jessica. “Tilly Norwood Is an “AI Actress” — Emily Blunt Says She’s “Terrifying.”” Complex, 30 Sept. 2025, www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jessica-mcbride/tilly-norwood-ai-actress-with-instagram-page-emily-blunt-terrifying. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.

‌Reilly, Kaitlin. “Who Is Tilly Norwood? Why This AI Actress Is Sparking Backlash from Real Hollywood Stars.” Yahoo Entertainment, 30 Sept. 2025, www.yahoo.com/entertainment/article/who-is-tilly-norwood-why-this-ai-actress-is-sparking-backlash-from-real-hollywood-stars-210608768.html. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.

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Comments

Nice work locating multiple sources for your fact-check.

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I like your use in quoting multiple sources and citing!

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You did a nice job pulling together lots of quotes and sources that show the AI actress Tilly is real and being discussed widely in the media. What I think could make your fact-check even stronger is focusing more on how the sources connect to the claim. For example, you mentioned CNN, TechCrunch, and Yahoo, but most of the direct evidence (like the actor quotes) all come back to CNN’s reporting. It might help to clarify which details are original to CNN and which come from other outlets, so the reader can see the difference between primary and repeated reporting. I also think it would be helpful to explain why the Instagram account is important evidence, is it verified, or is it only tied to coverage from those articles? That would make the conclusion feel more solid.

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I appreciate all the information you put into this. I'm curious how you found such accurate and helpful sources? Also, would X be a reliable source, or would that be considered a biased opinion?

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I think you did a really good job with not only pulling multiple sources that go against the creation of an AI actress, but also by including what the creator herself had to say. Another thing I liked about your sources was the fact you used quotes from actors that a lot of people, if not most, are familiar with. I think that really helped build credibility for the argument that people are actually upset with this.

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I really appreciate how much effort you put into finding 3+ sources to include in this fact check. Also, taking the time to cite specific portions of each source that help support the original claim is extremely valuable. I think it is interesting that X was used as a source in this fact-check. However, it is important to note that the actors writing about the AI actress on X represent Hollywood, and their words are a primary source. This was a great fact check!

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The use of multiple sources as well as your own commentary allowed for a response that was helpful and answered this question.

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I appreciate all of the sources and quotes you provided and the introduction you started with to get us familiar with the topic because I have actually not heard of this story yet.

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I enjoyed how you brought multiple perspectives into your claim and didn't just merely end with answering if it 2was true or false. Including responses from real actors/actresses in response to the AI actress is super interesting to read and I
m glad I found out about that through your claim!

Answer 2

This is actually true after scouring the internet and multiple sources, including BBC, CNN, ABC News, and other news outlets, which state that the AI actress Tilly Norwood has sparked outrage among the acting community in Hollywood. ABC News states that Famous Hollywood actor Emily Blunt, in a Variety interview, says, "That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don't do that. Please stop," implying how scary and detrimental this could be for the acting community. CNN also gives more examples of actors infuriated with the usage of AI, for example, "Ralph Ineson, who acted in “Nosferatu” and other films, responded to news of the project with a concise X post : “F**k off.” All these articles show us how infuriated the Hollywood acting community is with the new implementation of AI acting. 

Answer 3

This is true. One can read the CNN article you provided and clearly see that some of Hollywood’s A-listers have spoken out against this new AI actress, “Tilly”, and would most likely agree with actor Cameron Cowperthwaite, who wrote on X that this creation, “...incredibly thoughtless and frankly disturbing…” Even when the creator of this new AI actress, Eline Van Der Velden, stated “To those who have expressed anger over the creation of our AI character Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a human being…” numerous other actors and actresses still consider “Tilly” a generated creation that compiles stolen aspects of their real-life skill, work, effort, and creativity.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or “SAG-AFTRA”, is an American labor union for actors, broadcasters, and other media professionals who also put out a statement. Their team writes, “...[Tilly is] generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation…it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.” 

Although slightly unlike Cowperthwaite, in an MSNBC article, it’s stated that Whoopi Goldberg, one of the few actors with EGOT status (has won at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award), believes, “It’s a little bit of an unfair advantage. But you know what? Bring it on. Because you can always tell them from us.”

All in all, the most common and recent reactions from Hollywood toward the AI generation of “Tilly Norwood” have been negative and condemn agencies that support it. 

Here are a couple more sources that cover this issue:

1. https://variety.com/2025/film/news/gersh-ai-actress-tilly-norwood-representation-1236534829/

2. https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5558119/tily-norwood-ai-hollywood