When Tilly Norwood took the stage at the Zurich Film Festival on September 27, 2025, she did so without ever having set foot on a red carpet—or, for that matter, anywhere at all. Norwood, the world’s first AI-generated actress to be actively courted by Hollywood agents, has become the epicenter of a heated debate that’s splitting the entertainment industry right down the middle.
Her creator, Dutch technologist, comedian, and CEO of Particle6, Eline van der Velden, introduced Tilly Norwood as part of the launch of Xicoia, a new AI talent studio. “We want Tilly to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, that’s the aim,” Van der Velden told Broadcast International in July 2025—a bold ambition that’s already stirring up both excitement and anxiety across Hollywood’s inner circles, according to Broadcast International and Deadline.
Unlike the starlets whose names she’s meant to echo, Norwood was quietly launched earlier this year on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, where she began to amass a modest but growing following. Her first acting gig arrived in July: a lighthearted comedy sketch called AI Commissioner, produced by Particle6 Productions. “Can’t believe it… my first ever role is live! I star in ‘AI Commissioner,’ a new comedy sketch that playfully explores the future of TV development produced by the brilliant team at Particle6 Productions. I may be AI-generated, but I’m feeling very real emotions right now. I am so excited for what’s coming next!” Norwood (or rather, her handlers) posted on Facebook. It’s the kind of upbeat, self-aware banter one might expect from a rising influencer—except, of course, Norwood isn’t real.
That hasn’t stopped the industry from taking her seriously. Van der Velden revealed during an interview with Deadline’s Diana Lodderhose that “when we first launched Tilly, people were like, ‘What’s that?’ Now, we’re going to be announcing which agency is going to be representing her in the next few months.” As of late September, several Hollywood agents are reportedly in discussions to sign the AI actress, a development confirmed by Van der Velden herself.
The rationale behind Xicoia and Norwood’s creation is, at least in part, economic. “Budgets are shrinking. Content demand is rising. Audiences? They care about the story — not whether the star has a pulse,” Van der Velden explained on LinkedIn. She further argued, “People are realizing that their creativity doesn’t need to be boxed in by a budget. There are no constraints creatively, and that’s why AI can really be a positive. It’s just about changing people’s viewpoint.” In her view, AI-driven talent like Norwood can be inserted into films, shows, and even branded campaigns with minimal logistical overhead—potentially revolutionizing the way content is made and distributed.
But if Van der Velden and her supporters see an exciting new “paintbrush” for storytelling, much of Hollywood sees a threat. The backlash was swift and fierce after Norwood’s Zurich debut. Melissa Barrera took to Instagram Stories to declare: “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$.” Mara Wilson, known for her advocacy on behalf of working actors, raised ethical concerns: “And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her?” Lukas Gage, with tongue in cheek, joked, “She was a nightmare to work with!!!!” Jenna Leigh Green went so far as to tag SAG-AFTRA in the comments of a Deadline report about Norwood, signaling union-level alarm. According to Deadline and Effingham Radio, the sentiment among many actors is that AI talent could undercut opportunities for living performers, especially as studios look to cut costs wherever possible.
The controversy isn’t just about jobs, though. Some critics argue that the very nature of celebrity—and the relationship between stars and their fans—relies on authenticity and unpredictability. As one columnist for Effingham Radio pointed out, “fans want their idols to spontaneously riff with co-workers on red carpets, pop in somewhere random for lunch, and get messy on social media; the illusion that an actress is just like them can’t be sustained when they know she’s AI.” The suggestion that Norwood could ever become the next Scarlett Johansson is especially provocative in light of Johansson’s recent legal battle with OpenAI, which centered on the unauthorized use of her voice and likeness.
In response to the uproar, Van der Velden issued a formal statement via Deadline and on Norwood’s social channels. “To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work, a piece of art,” she wrote. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.” She continued, “I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.”
Still, many in the industry remain unconvinced. The backlash has included calls to blacklist agencies that sign AI talent, as reported by Deadline and Effingham Radio. Some actors and commentators argue that the move to AI talent is less about creative freedom and more about studios’ attempts to sidestep labor costs and union protections. Others worry about the ethical implications of using composite images of real people to create digital personas, especially without clear consent or compensation.
Meanwhile, Van der Velden insists that AI characters like Norwood are not meant to replace humans, but to expand the creative toolkit available to storytellers. She points to the history of technological innovation in entertainment—animation, puppetry, CGI—as evidence that new tools don’t necessarily spell doom for established crafts. “Studios are quietly pushing forward with AI projects,” she noted, hinting that more announcements are on the horizon. “It’s just about changing people’s viewpoint.”
For now, Tilly Norwood remains a curiosity: a digital actress with an agent (soon, perhaps, a major one), a social media presence, and a single comedy sketch to her name. Whether she’ll ever headline a blockbuster, or simply fade into the background of Hollywood’s ongoing experiment with artificial intelligence, remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: her debut has forced the industry to reckon with questions that won’t be going away any time soon—about art, authenticity, and the future of fame itself.
As the dust settles from Zurich, the world watches to see whether Norwood’s story will be remembered as a footnote in the history of digital entertainment, or the opening chapter of an entirely new era.
