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

Tilly Norwood was introduced by Eline Van Der Velden at Zurich Summit. Tilly Norwood is indeed a digital character generated by artificial intelligence (AI) that has caused controversy in Hollywood. However, its creators insist that the project is not intended to replace real human actors, although many professional remain suspicious. 

Some actresses and public voices share their thoughts about Tilly Norwood: 

"That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don't do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection," Emily Blunt.

Whoopi Goldberg, an Oscar-winning actress and co-host of ABC's "The View," said she believes AI generated actors have an "unfair advantage" over human actors. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/ai-generated-actress-tilly-norwood-sparks-hollywood-backlash/story?id=126081156

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and a number of human actors have publicly criticized a character generated by AI named Tilly Norwood, emphasizing that "creativity is, and must remain, human centered." https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-statement-synthetic-performer#:~:text=https://www.sagaftra.org,About%20SAG%2DAFTRA

A CNN article titled "AI actor, strike" (July 2023) reports that one main issues in the ongoing Hollywood strike is the use of actors generated by AI and unauthorized training of human appearances, which the actors warns could replace human performers. Although the CNN article does not specifically mention Tilly Norwood (who is more recently example), it helps broader industry backdrop, actors are increasingly aware of the use of AI in film/ TV roles. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/business/ai-actors-strike

This claim is accurate, based on multiple reliable sources including ABC News, CNN, and the official SAG-AFTRA statement.

Answer 2

It is true that this is a massive talking point for those engaged in the film world. Tilly Norwood has sparked many debates online and has started to get the ball rolling on discussions that inquire about the nature of AI itself, and if we should really be using it for entertainment. In the comments of this post by Deadline, users, critics, and actors alike are showing strong signs of disdain for an AI actress to be taking the spotlight. Actress Mara Wilson responded to Deadline's post by saying: “And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?” At the end of the day, it's unknown what will happen regarding AI in the film sphere as of now. But what's for certain is that it's a very split issue.

Answer 3

This claim is very much true. Despite the attention grab of the wording of the headline, this claim is not inaccurate. As cited by this CNN article, many actors and people in the film industry are upset over a new AI actress. Her name is "Tilly Norwood." The use of AI in the film industry has been a widely protested subject, so it makes sense that there is upset. This CNN article https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/tech/hollywood-ai-actor-backlash includes comments from many Hollywood stars that show how unwanted AI is: “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.”

Other responses and reactions to this new use of AI include not only disgust, but fear of what this will do to the film industry, and to actor's jobs. An article from ABC News https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/ai-generated-actress-tilly-norwood-sparks-hollywood-backlash/story?id=126081156 include a statement from an actress Emily Blunt with her response to one of Tilly Norwood's Instagram posts: "'That is really, really scary, Come on, agencies, don't do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection,' Blunt told Variety on Monday." Articles from ABC News and the BBC also reference the SAG-AFTRA, the actor's union. In a BBC article https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99glvn5870o the union says "'It doesn't solve any 'problem' — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry,'" 
All of these article make it clear that the claim of Hollywood Stars being upset with the use of AI actors is true, and not exaggerated. 

Answer 4

Yes, this is a true statement. In a CBC YouTube video, they show clips of Tilly Norwood doing "screen tests". The CEO of Particle6 - Eline Van Der Velden - says she's already been meeting with entertainment companies. Tilly Norwood even has her own Instagram account called @tillynorwood. The latest post was on September 27th saying, "She is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work - a piece of art." 

Hollywood actors like Emily Blunt and Whoopi Goldberg have made public statements about their thoughts on this AI Actress. Emily Blunt said, "Good lord we're screwed. This is really really scary. Come on, agencies, don't do that." Whoopi Goldberg said, "Bring it on. Because you can always tell 'them' from us."

SAG-AFTRA - a labor union that represents performers in television, film, dance, editors, and other media - have also made a statement saying, "SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics."

Sources:

https://youtu.be/qdYBwCwCtis?si=exb6DIdB7DznQSiv

https://www.instagram.com/tillynorwood/?hl=en

https://www.tillynorwood.com/

https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-statement-synthetic-performer

Answer 5

This claim, that an AI actress has been developed and announced, and is enraging actors in Hollywood (https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/tech/hollywood-ai-actor-backlash) seems true. It is reported by CNN, which is typically regarded as a trustworthy news source, and is backed up by the original Deadline article they cite (https://deadline.com/2025/09/talent-agent-ai-actress-tilly-norwood-studios-1236557889/) and the X post from Ralph Ineson is real (https://x.com/ralphineson)

 

Answer 6

The story of AI-created actress Tilly Norwood is real news. Tilly is an AI actress created by Eline Van Der Velden’s company Particle6 (Deadline). Tilly was publicly launched in July 2025 (Deadline). Her existence has recently sparked backlash from Hollywood actors and unions like SAG-AFTRA, whose president, Sean Astin, has staunchly expressed that AI will not replace real entertainers (Variety). SAG-AFTRA has condemned Particle6’s creation as exploitative and unethical (The Guardian). Critics argue that Tilly’s existence uses real actors’ likenesses and performances without expressed consent or financial compensation (MSNBC). Already, Tilly has been accused of stealing funds from real actors. However, according to Velden, reports that Tilly was developed using funding from the British Film Institute (BFI) are false; although Particle6 did receive a grant from the BFI’s UK Global Screen Fund, money used to create Tilly is from Xicioa, a separate company that Velden founded on her personal investment (Deadline). Tilly has not starred in a major film production, but she has already made headlines. Her story has been picked up and confirmed by major news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and NPR.

Answer 7

This is a true statement and many actresses / actors have voiced their opinions about how they feel on social media. according to CNN, " “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".

Sophie Turner, who is an actress in The Game of Thrones recently commented on a Instagram post saying "Wow ... no thanks" (CNN). Cameron Cowperthwaite, who is in shows such as Shameless and American Horror Story, spoke out saying "This is incredibly thoughtless and frankly disturbing, I hope this backfires in every way humanly and well… Non humanly possible" (CNN).

It's also mentioned that in an Instagram post that Tilly's creator said that the intention was not to replace human actors. however, in a recent Instagram post on Tilly's account  before actresses / actors voiced their opinion the it states "...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). 

Answer 8

The creation of this AI-generated actress has caused controversy among the Hollywood world, as some of the biggest stars are starting to speak out against this new form of technology. Tilly Norwood was created by Eline Van Der Velden in hopes of signing her with a talent agency as a prospect for acting roles. Emily Blunt, among many other celebrities, shared their backlash to this creation — "That is really, really scary, Come on, agencies, don't do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection," Blunt told Variety on Monday.”

Whoopi Goldberg has also had some words to share with “The View” — “believes AI-generated actors have an "unfair advantage" over human actors." She shared that "You are suddenly up against something that's been generated with 5,000 other actors ... so it's a little bit of an unfair advantage,” making a good point as to how this makes the competitive world of Hollywood just that much more competitive. 

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/ai-generated-actress-tilly-norwood-sparks-hollywood-backlash/story?id=126081156#:~:text=That%20is%20really%2C%20really%20scary%2C%20Come%20on%2C%20agencies%2C%20don%27t%20do%20that.%20Please%20stop.%20Please%20stop%20taking%20away%20our%20human%20connection%2C%22%20Blunt%20told%20Variety%20on%20Monday. 

Tilly Norwood is portrayed to be a young girl with brown wavy hair and clear skin pursuing an acting career while simultaneously posting on Instagram and creating a digital footprint for herself, despite the fact that she is not a real person. Deadline reportedly stated that “talent agents were looking to sign Tilly as an actress and that movie studios are quietly embracing AI-generated content.” 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/tech/hollywood-ai-actor-backlash 

https://deadline.com/2025/09/talent-agent-ai-actress-tilly-norwood-studios-1236557889/ 

Answer 9

Yes, this is true. Tilly was designed to perform a bunch of different roles and was introduced as an “ AI commissioner”. Well-known actors such as Melissa Barrera and Whoopi Goldberg have criticized Tilly's presence, arguing it undermines the work and craft of acting and could replace real performers. Actors are concerned that AI could impact their profession, potentially rendering it less of an art form. 

"It's a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless 

professional performers — without permission or compensation," the union said in a statement.” 

"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."

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/ai-actress-backlash-1.7647478

Answer 10

The BBC story on Tilly Norwood, the first artificial intelligence actress in history, brings up a number of moral and societal issues around the substitution of artificial actors for human ones. The value of authentic human creativity, emotion, and experience that actual performers offer to stories is allegedly diminished by the use of an AI actress like Tilly, according to critics. Tilly's performances lack the nuance, sensitivity, and lived perspective that distinguish acting as an art form because they are entirely digitally produced.   Real actors' employment prospects are also at risk since production companies might opt for AI substitutes, which are less expensive, simpler to manage, and never demand proper compensation or working conditions.

Transparency is also an issue, viewers may not always be aware that they are viewing a digital production rather than a real person. All things considered, Tilly Norwood's narrative demonstrates how the media industry may lose authenticity, creative diversity, and the ability to distinguish between fact and fiction as artificial intelligence becomes more common in performing.