First AI actress Tilly Norwood caused a scandal in Hollywood

October 1, 2025 at 09:58 AM • 81446 переглядiв

There's a new scandal in Hollywood after Elin Van der Velden, the creator of the first AI-generated actress, announced that talent agents had expressed interest in representing Tilly Norwood.

UNN reports with reference to Reuters and El Universal.

Details

The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra) claims that the recent debut of an AI "actress" dubbed Tilly Norwood could "deprive actors and artists of their livelihoods."

Reference

Tilly Norwood is an attractive figure with shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, a British accent, and her own social media profile. But Norwood is an atypical actress, as she was created by artificial intelligence.

There's even a separate social media post, "registered" under this AI character:

I may be AI-generated, but I'm feeling very real emotions right now. I'm so excited for what's next!"
- Tilly Norwood's words are attributed.

The AI actress was unveiled on Saturday at a film industry conference in Zurich, Switzerland.

Tilly Norwood upsets professionals and unions

Sag-Aftra emphasizes:

Tilly Norwood is not an actress; she is a character created by a computer program that was trained using the work of countless professional artists, without permission or compensation," the union explains in its statement. They add that this project "does not solve any problems, but rather creates the problem of using stolen performances to deprive actors of work, endanger the livelihoods of artists, and devalue human craftsmanship.
- the union's statement reads.

Well-known stars are already joining the sharp reaction. As Reuters writes, such a stir obviously reflects fear in the context of the intersection of artificial intelligence and show business.

Emily Blunt, known for her role in "Oppenheimer," said the following in an interview with Variety:

We're in trouble. This is very, very scary. Don't do this. Please stop, stop depriving us of human connection." Meanwhile, Natasha Lyonne stated on social media that "any talent agency involved in this should be boycotted by every professional. This is deeply wrong and absolutely disturbing. This is not right. This doesn't work.
- she said.

The creator of the AI actress does not hide her ambitions

Meanwhile, Elin Van der Velden, the creator of Tilly Norwood and head of Xicoia - a company that creates AI characters for films - made a provocative statement in an interview with Broadcast International:

We want Tilly to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, that's the goal of what we're doing.
- said Elin Van der Velden.

Elin van der Velden also noted that the creation of Tilly was an act of imagination and skill, similar to drawing a character, writing a role, or shaping a performance.

Meanwhile, some talent agencies have expressed interest in representing Tilly Norwood as a regular artist.

Recall

In 2023, the first Screen Actors Guild strike in 63 years took place: then Hollywood writers and actors rallied together.

Meta plans to spend even more money on investments in artificial intelligence data centers. Mark Zuckerberg announced that he sees the future of AI precisely in expanding personal capabilities.

Ihor TelezhnikovNews of the World